Retiring Vice Chairman Dominates Ford News

As of late, Ford news has surrounded the company announcement made earlier this year pertaining to the retirement of longtime Ford executive, Greg Smith.  After starting out as an engineer with truck operations in 1973, Smith was atop Ford news as he moved up to Vice Chairman after more than 30 years with the company.  Now, after 32 years of service, Smith has announced his retirement effective March 1, 2006. 

“Greg has contributed tremendously to Ford Motor Company in many areas, including leading the turnaround at Ford Motor Credit,” admits Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Ford.  “His deep knowledge of all aspects of the business has been extremely helpful as we’ve developed our plans for the future, and I’m pleased he will remain with us in a consulting role.”

Upon joining Ford in 1973 as an engineer with truck operations, a recent Ford news release explains that Greg Smith also held several engineering and product planning positions within the company.  In 1985, Smith moved to the Ford Division as Truck and Powertrain Marketing Plans manager before becoming the manager of Car Marketing Plans.  Finally, he accepted the position of Central Region Marketing manager.  Smith later went from the Ford Division to the Lincoln Mercury Division, which is where he became the Dallas District Operations manager. 

After returning from Dallas in 1990, Smith was named Director of Strategy and Advanced Planning for car product development.  Just three years later, in 1993, he was promoted to executive director of Strategic Planning and External Affairs for the Ford Financial Services Group.  Following that, Smith was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Ford Motor Credit before being named the Chairman and CEO of Ford Motor Credit.  In 2004, he became a company Executive Vice President and President of the Americas, which is a position that he held until he was elected Vice Chariman.

“Greg’s respect for his fellow employees and his leadership behaviors are well known and highly regarded throughout the company,” said Jim Padilla, Ford Motor Company president and Chief Operating Officer.  According to a recent Ford news release, Padilla added, “We appreciate his many contributions and will greatly miss his knowledge and insight.”

As Vice Chairman, Smith was responsible for a variety of company operations, including the direction of central corporate staffs.  Among others, he was responsible for directing the departments of Human Resources and Labor Affairs, Corporate Strategy and Information Technology and Automotive Strategy.  As Vice Chairman, Greg Smith was a regular participant in Ford news releases, as well as being in charge of guiding Ford Motor Company’s strategic development, considering and enforcing key decisions and defining it’s future financial services.       
From new automobiles to racing and even to retirement, Ford news is widely read by auto enthusiasts worldwide.  Wherever automotive happenings occur, it is almost certain to include some type of Ford news in the mix.

Chrysler Strike Deadline Nears

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The United Auto Workers' 11 a.m. EDT strike deadline loomed over continuing labor-contract talks between the union and Chrysler on Wednesday morning.

Negotiators worked through the night at Chrysler's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., according to the Associated Press, but several key issues remained unresolved.

The UAW recently completed similar negotiations with Chrysler's counterpart, General Motors , but not before workers walked off the job for two days.

If an agreement is not reached with Chrysler on Wednesday morning, 49,000 workers could leave their jobs at 24 U.S. plants, but negotiations could still be extended further.

Representatives of Chrysler and the UAW couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Observers say Chrysler could easily weather a short strike because its inventory levels are too high and a work stoppage could help the company remedy that. A longer strike would be a threat to the company's cash position.

Chrysler was recently sold by its former German parent company, Daimler , to private-equity giant Cerberus Capital Management. It's no longer traded publicly, but its negotiations with the UAW could have implications for the No. 2 U.S. automaker, Ford .

Meanwhile, the UAW is expected to announce Wednesday that a majority of its GM workers voted to ratify its tentative agreement on a labor contract. The two parties agreed to set up a union-controlled health care trust fund, or VEBA. It also established a two-tier wage structure, allowing the company to pay new hires at a lower rate that is more comparable to its foreign-based competitors.
The VEBA will be expensive for GM in the near term as the it shells out cash to finance the fund, but in the long run, it promises to free the company from the crushing burden of its health care payments to retirees. That will lower GM's borrowing costs and boost the profitability of its auto operations, allowing the company more leeway to invest in new products and become a more formidable competitor.

Talks at Chrysler are centered on how much the automaker would pay to finance a VEBA. It has an estimated $18 billion in unfunded retiree health care costs. The automaker also is trying to get health care concessions from the UAW that were already granted to GM and Ford.

The UAW is seeking production guarantees at U.S. plants to preserve union jobs.
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