Bill Ford exits as CEO, Ford Motor Co.
Dearborn, USA: Bill Ford, CEO, Ford Motor Co. is stepping down as chief executive of the company founded by his great grandfather and will be replaced by Alan Mulally, a top executive of the airplane manufacturer Boeing Co. Bill Ford will continue as chairman of the company, it has been announced.

The change comes more than seven months into an ongoing restructuring operation at Ford that has failed, so far, to turn around the second largest automaker in the US.

Mulally, 61, was widely acclaimed for his role in turning around Boeing's commercial airplanes unit over the past couple of years. He was also a top contender for the CEOs job at Boeing last year but the company decide to opt for aerospace veteran Jim McNerney, then the 3M Co. chief executive.

By way of a response, Boeing on Tuesday named Scott Carson to replace Mulally as president of its commercial airplanes unit. Carson, 60, had been vice president of sales for the Seattle-based division and is a 34-year veteran of the company.

Bill Ford is the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, and his family still owns a 40 percent voting stake in the company. In announcing Mulally's appointment to Ford employees, Bill Ford said in an e-mail that Ford's turnaround effort "required the additional skills of an executive who has led a major manufacturing enterprise through such challenges before."

Under the first restructuring plan, Ford closed five plants and cut 35,000 jobs, but failed to turn around its North American operations. Its latest restructuring effort, announced in January, intends to cut up to 30,000 jobs and close 14 facilities by 2012. Meanwhile, Mulally, a 37 year veteran of Boeing, said he looked forward to applying lessons learned at Boeing to Ford.

Ford shares rose 12 cents to close at $8.39 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange before the announcement. Its shares rose another 30 cents to $8.69 in after-hours trading.
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Intel to shed 10,500 jobs
San Francisco: Technology giant Intel has confirmed it is cutting 10,500 jobs, or about 10 per cent of its work force, as part of a plan to become more competitive. It has been engaged in cut throat competition with arch rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc over the last year.

These cuts, along with other cost-cutting measures, would help Intel save $US1 billion this year, $US2 billion next year, and $US3 billion in 2008, the chip maker said.

Intel shares fell 25 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to $US19.74 in extended trading following the announcement of the cuts.

The cuts will be Intel's largest in 21 years. Intel also said that it would take a charge of $US200 million in severance costs. In an attempt to regain market share, as well as its technological lead over AMD, Intel has slashed prices and revamped its entire line of microprocessors for desktop, laptop and server computers in recent months.
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