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- Ford Motor Company's restructuring plan, made public in 2006, was known as The Way Forward. Ford was attempting to reduce fixed capital costs while maintaining a special focus on cars and car-based crossover vehicles. Over time, it hoped to make more of its product line profitable instead of relying on a limited portion of the products for profit. Making good profits across the product line required that the company reduce the costs of development and production, while introducing new products that connect with consumers. In the latter half of 2005, Chairman Bill Ford asked newly appointed Ford Americas Division President Mark Fields to develop a plan to return the company to profitability. Fields previewed the Plan, dubbed "The Way Forward", at the December 7, 2005 board meeting of the company; and it was unveiled to the public on January 23, 2006. The plan was revised on September 15, 2006 to accelerate plant closings. "The Way Forward" included resizing the company to match then current market realities, dropping some unprofitable and inefficient models, consolidating production lines, and shutting down seven vehicle assembly plants and seven parts factories. Among these were St. Louis Assembly (near St. Louis), Atlanta Assembly (near Atlanta), Batavia Transmission (Batavia, Ohio), Windsor Casting (Windsor, Ontario, Canada), and Wixom Assembly (Wixom, Michigan). Up to 30,000 hourly and salaried jobs (28% of the total workforce) in North America over the next six years were expected to be eliminated, which is comparable to similar cutbacks previously announced at General Motors. These cutbacks were consistent with Ford's roughly 25% decline in U.S. automotive market share since the mid-late 1990s. New cars were developed faster using the new Global Product Development System (GPDS). This brought Ford's cycle time closer to its Japanese rivals. Ford also announced that it would have every vehicle in the Ford and Lincoln line up built on one of its nine new global platforms, cutting costs significantly. A new style for all Ford and Lincoln vehicles was introduced and Ford wanted "An unmistakable Ford or Lincoln look". A joint venture with Mahindra and Mahindra Limited of India ended with the sale of Ford's 15 percent stake in 2005. Ford's realignment also included the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Hertz Rent-a-Car to a private equity group for $15 billion in cash and debt acquisition. The sale was completed on December 22, 2005. Some 15 years later, Hertz was declared bankrupt. While Ford had projected returning to profitability sometime after 2010, they beat this goal, returned their first profit in 2009. [1] (en)
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