Ford Investors to Vote on Creating 1 Share Class

Shareholders of Ford Motor Co. will vote on a proposal that would strip the Ford family of much of its voting power by creating a single class of shares, a company spokesman said Monday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on March 7 denied the automaker’s request to exclude the proposal. Ford has 1.8 billion common shares and 71 million Class B shares. The Class B shares give the Ford family 40% of the automaker’s voting power.

Ford is led by family member William Clay Ford Jr., 47, who took the post in October 2001. Ford spokesman Glenn Ray said the company would make a formal response to the proposal in its proxy, expected to be released next month.

The proposal was submitted by shareholders Edward P. Olson of Long Beach and Jack Leeds of Novi, Mich. Both designated John Chevedden, a Redondo Beach shareholder activist, to act on their behalf in shareholder matters.