WSJ: Dearborn Car Maker to Name Gilmour CFO - Will This Help Pacify Investors?

NEW YORK Reuters is reporting that Auto maker Ford Motor Co. is expected to call former Vice Chairman Allan Gilmour out of retirement to become chief financial officer in yet another move to kickstart its turnaround, the Wall Street Journal reported on its online edition Friday.

Citing people familiar with the situation, the Journal said Gilmour, who retired from Ford in 1995 after working for the firm for 30 years, will succeed Martin Inglis as chief financial officer.

Inglis is expected to move to a new post overseeing corporate strategy and Ford's turnaround campaign, the paper added.

Reports last week said Ford had new management changes on the cards as part of its efforts to bring the company back to profitability. European operations head David Thursfield, known as a tough cost cutter, is expected to be named the new head of purchasing and international operations.

Ford aims at cutting costs by $3 billion by 2005.

Investors, infuriated by the firm's massive loss in 2001, are concerned that Ford's turnaround efforts are not aggressive or fast enough.