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Ford hits the reorganize button
Ford is giving its leadership structure a makeover, and Doug Field — the company’s top EV and software exec — is heading for the exit after a transition period. His responsibilities aren’t disappearing; they’re being folded into a new Product Creation and Industrialization unit, which is a very corporate way of saying Ford wants fewer silos and fewer slow-moving handoffs.
What’s changing?
The new structure will be led by COO Kumar Galhotra and is designed to bring EVs, software, and manufacturing under one roof. Translation: Ford is trying to make the car company move a little more like a startup, minus the hoodies and beanbags.
CEO Jim Farley says the goal is to reduce complexity and speed up execution as Ford gets ready to launch a fresh wave of products. That matters because Ford’s EV push has been expensive, messy, and absolutely not the kind of thing you want bogged down by internal bureaucracy.
Why investors should care
This is less about one executive walking out the door and more about Ford admitting the old setup wasn’t lean enough for the next phase. The company is still chasing an 8% adjusted EBIT margin by 2029, and the reorg is supposed to help it get there by improving efficiency, quality, and the pace of development.
Ford’s long game is ambitious:
- refresh 80% of North American lineup by 2029
- refresh 70% of global portfolio by 2029
- get 90% of global nameplates electrified by 2030
- push BlueCruise toward eyes-off driving by 2028
Big picture
Ford is betting that tighter integration between hardware, software, and manufacturing will finally make its EV plan feel less like three companies taped together. That’s a decent story if it works — and a very expensive headache if it doesn’t.