Nasser pulls belt tighter, cuts overseas assignments

Jacques A. Nasser is making his mark already. Scrambling to stanch serious hemorrhaging in Europe ($472 million so far this year), the new president of Ford Automotive Operations is accelerating the cost-cutting targets of Ford 2000. Among the specific measures: Travel is to be cut by 50% and foreign assignments will be sharply curtailed. More transcontinental decisions will be made in teleconferences. Discretionary spending will be reduced, and all department managers must find ways to deliver the same or more work within a smaller budget. Ford officials won't say how much more these new measures will save. Skepticism grows about the effectiveness of Ford 2000, but Chairman Alex Trotman says the real impact will be obvious by 1998 (see p. 36). A group formed earlier this year is revamping Ford's entire engineering process. Ford 2000 aims to cut the number of vehicle platforms from 32 to 16 and it is about halfway through that process. For example, the next Ford Escort, due in 1999, will be used as the basis of a new small pickup truck to be sold in Europe and emerging markets.