DETROIT — Ford Motor Co.'s C-suite shake-up last month went much further than simply switching the nameplate outside the CEO's office.
The automaker drastically altered its senior management structure by bestowing wider power on three senior executives, combining the critical roles of purchasing and product development and installing Executive Chairman Bill Ford as the company's public voice in a bid to reassert his influence over his family's namesake company.
One month after the shocking moves, the company still is working internally to sort out the new structure. While it may be new to Ford, management consultants say the structure is not unique in the automotive industry and is part of a growing wave of car companies looking to tweak operations and get leaner.