An auto analyst at the University of Windsor says he was caught off guard by a senior management shake-up at the Ford Motor Company.
The automaker announced Monday that CEO Mark Fields is out and is being replaced by Jim Hackett, who has been heading up the automaker's self-driving vehicle division for the past year.
Tony Faria thought Fields was doing a great job but believes stock holders likely played a role in the change. "Dissatisfaction has been expressed but if we look at the past three years under Mark Fields, we're talking about $10-billion a year in profitability, Ford heading towards another excellent profit year."
Ford's stock has dropped nearly 40% over the past three years but Faria notes that Ford isn't the only company with under performing stocks. "Their stock has been performing unsatisfactorily, but that's been the case with most of the auto companies. Wall Street doesn't seem to value the auto industry very well at this point in time."