Ford executive gets the boot

Ford Motor has ousted the head of its most important business unit because of unspecified “inappropriate behaviour”.

Ford Motor has ousted the head of its most important business unit because of unspecified “inappropriate behaviour”, the latest in a litany of setbacks to hit the US car maker.

An internal probe found that Raj Nair, president of Ford’s North America operations, engaged in behaviour “inconsistent with the company’s code of conduct”, according to a statement. Ford began the investigation after an anonymous complaint from within the company.

While Ford declined to detail what had led to Nair’s immediate exit, he is departing as prominent men from Washington to Hollywood are implicated in misconduct. Although highprofile firings clearly linked to the #MeToo movement have yet to materialise within the car industry, Ford’s CE did apologise late in 2017 for harassment on the car maker’s factory floors.

Ford appointed Kumar Galhotra on Thursday as president of its North America business to replace Nair, Reuters reported.

Galhotra, who previously led Ford’s luxury Lincoln Motor arm, will report to Jim Farley, Ford executive vice-president and president of global markets.

“It’s a very male-dominated industry and most companies are paying special attention to these kinds of issues and taking action,” Michelle Krebs, an analyst at car-shopping website Autotrader, said. “More chaos at the company comes at a terrible time because Ford has had so much upheaval.” Nair, 53, was a Ford lifer who had been with the company for more than 30 years. He was head of global product development and served as chief technical officer before a series of management changes that followed Jim Hackett becoming CEO in 2017.

“We made this decision after a thorough review and careful consideration,” Hackett said, adding that Ford was committed to providing a safe and respectful culture.