Ford chief executive Mark Fields is set to depart following a major reshuffle at the car maker, according to reports.
His expected departure comes as Ford faces weak sales, falling profits and a near-40% decline in its share price since Mr Fields took up his role in 2014.
Ford employs more than 200,000 people globally at the end of 2016, including about 101,000 in North America and 23,000 in Asia.
Sales in April were down 7% in the US and 11% lower in Europe compared with the same month last year. The firm has also been hit by costs related to safety recalls.
Mark Fields won’t just be paying the price for a fall in Ford’s US sales and a big slide in the share price over the last 12 months: he will be a casualty of the company’s failure to prepare for the future.
Ford, which gave the world its first mass-market car, is witnessing the end of the internal combustion engine. Long-range electric and autonomous transport is tomorrow’s technology, and the likes of General Motors, Toyota, and Volkswagen are ahead in the race to exploit it.
Last month Ford’s stock market value fell behind Tesla, the electric car upstart that has never made a profit. It was a symbolic moment that underlines Ford’s problems.