Ford replaces CEO as it grapples with industry change
Ford is replacing its CEO, Mark Fields, with Jim Hackett, the head of its autonomous driving subsidiary, further reflecting the pressures on the US auto industry. Shares in Ford have fallen 40% in Field's three-year tenure and the company has issued a number of safety recalls this year. It is also struggling to keep up with rivals in developing self-driving cars. With the US sales slowing after two record years, the car maker faces a difficult balancing act to maintain strong results in north America while also investing in projects for the future and keeping up with competitors.
(Editors’ note: Ford on Monday announced the replacement of its chief executive, Mark Fields, vowing to catch up in the race to build self-driving cars and define a new era in personal mobility.)

DEARBORN, Mich. — In a shake-up reflecting the pressures on the American auto industry, Ford Motor is replacing its chief executive, Mark Fields, according to officials briefed on the move.

Jim Hackett, who oversees the Ford subsidiary that works on autonomous vehicles, will take the reins from Mr. Fields. Ford plans to make an announcement on Monday morning, the officials said.

During Mr. Fields’s three-year tenure — a period when Ford’s shares dropped 40 percent — he came under fire from investors and Ford’s board for failing to expand the company’s core auto business and for lagging in developing the high-tech cars of the future.