FX.co ★ Ford CEO Mark Fields quits

On Monday, Forbes reported that Ford CEO Mark Fields has been fired as a result of Executive Chairman Bill Ford and the rest of the board losing confidence in his leadership. An official announcement of Field’s ouster is set to be made soon. Mark Fields took over as CEO in 2014.

Mark Fields will be replaced with Jim Hackett, Chairman of Ford Smart Mobility.

In addition, Ford's Vice President (VP) of Communications Ray Day will also leave the company and will be replaced by Mark Truby, who is currently the VP of communications of Ford's Asia-Pacific operations. Other executives including James Farlay, President of Ford's Europe, Middle East and Africa business, along with Joseph Hinrichs, head of Ford North America will take larger roles.

The automaker’s stock price plummeted 40% under Fields’ tenure and Ford fell behind Tesla and General Motors in market value.

In a hope to improve profitability, Ford plans to lay off about 10% of its workers worldwide and cut costs by $3 billion in 2017.