When Jim Hackett took over as chief executive of Ford Motor, he was charged with revitalizing a company suffering from slumping profits, rising costs and an uncertain outlook.In the 11 months since then, Mr. Hackett has shuffled Ford’s executive ranks and outlined plans to introduce new sport-utility vehicles and electric cars. Other steps in his strategy, however, have been slow in coming.
New models — including updated Escape and Explorer S.U.V.s — are on the way, but most won’t begin arriving until the second half of 2019. The company’s stock price is still lagging. And while Mr. Hackett has vowed to cut engineering costs and improve Ford’s “fitness,” he has yet to specify how he’ll do that, what his overall turnaround plan entails, and what financial targets Ford hopes to hit.
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