Ford has replaced its top quality executive while the car manufacturer continues to deal with reliability issues.
Ford’s chief transformation and quality officer, Stuart Rowley, is leaving the car manufacturer after 32 years and will be replaced by Ford’s current vice president of product development operations and internal combustion engine programs, Jim Baumbick.
Ford chief executive Jim Farley has been eager to sort out Ford’s quality issues ever seen taking over as CEO two years ago. He has noted that it affects Ford’s financial performance.
“We’ve made more progress on our launch quality and initial quality, you could see it in the surveys and our ramp-up of production,” Farley said during a shareholder meeting in May. “However, we are not satisfied at all with our quality performance, including our recalls and customer satisfaction efforts, which we need to quickly accelerate.”
Read: Ford CEO Jim Farley Explains Why EV And ICE Business Split Was Necessary
Speaking about the appointment of Jim Baumbick as the new quality officer, Farley said he is the right man for the job, Yahoo reports
“Quality is our No. 1 priority as a company, and Jim Baumbick is the right leader to deliver world-class quality and reliability at Ford.”
Current executive director of quality, Josh Halliburton who was hired from J.D. Power in January, will report to Baumbick. Changes made will see quality improvement work integrated in design, engineering, manufacturing, and the supply chain.
News of these changes comes shortly after Ford let go of 3,000 white-collar workers to cut costs and help in its transition to electric vehicles. Farley has also orchestrated Ford’s move to split into electric vehicle and ICE businesses into separate divisions.
