The Japanese appear more willing to replace car companies CEOs as profits fall due to the troubled auto market. In the U.S., none of The Big Three has replaced its chief executive since the industry crisis began.
According to The Wall Street Journal, "Honda Motor Co (NYSE: HMC) said Monday that it appointed Takanobu Ito, a senior managing director, as new president and chief executive to replace Takeo Fukui." The departing CEO will get to stay on the board of directors. Just three weeks ago, Toyota (NYSE: TM) replaced its chief executive.
The moves by the Japanese car companies may seem drastic. Both are doing well, at least compared to their U.S. counterparts. While their revenue and profits may be falling, they do not have debt or labor agreements that could drag them into bankruptcies. It is hard to blame management for the global recession.
The news has to make investors in the U.S. car companies wonder why the CEOs have hung on so long. It appears that the Japanese are ready to hold management accountable for poor results, even those not entirely under their control. Their boards may want to send the message that CEO job security is based on results, regardless of the origin of those results.
At The Big Three the people who pay the price for poor performance are the blue collar and white collar workers who are being fired by the tens of thousands. It is an odd system that punishes those who did not cause the problems and lets those who did keep their jobs.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-23-2009 @ 8:49AM
carl c said...
Unfortunately it's not just the big three that has this problem. Look at Lucent Technologies/Bell Labs - bad decisions by upper management in the 90s cost 100,000 talented engineers their jobs and the sale of a national resource (Bell Labs) to Alcatel. This country rewards the flashiest, biggest mouths, not people with talent and wisdom.
2-23-2009 @ 9:02AM
BHarrison said...
Our political and corporate systems are too controlled by the special interests groups who keep their puppet politicians and CEOs in office regardless and in spite of their failed and/or corrupt "leadership".
The strangle hold on our corporations and BOTH the RNC and DNC must be broken in order to effect recovery. Under the guise of "helping the american people" the CEOs and politicians are "gaming the bailout system" to prop up and to bailout THEIR interests . . . and little by little, nothing is REALLY being done for the American people.
This is nothing more than further duping and defrauding the American people. There is no way to avoid the substantial impact of the "derivatives" frauds and other frauds that have been committed against the American people.
the American people are so blind to the horrific corrupt control of our political parties, controlled behind the scenes by the elitists corporate and ultra-wealthy special interests groups . . . they are bleeding the American people into economic poverty; and "the people" allow this to continue to occur.
Bill Nelson (D-FL) received the largest "poltical coampaign 'contribution'" from from R. Allen Stanford ($45,900.00) of the political "campaign 'contributions'" to Congressmen who subsequently VOTED AGAINST legislation that would have improved REGULATION and OVERSIGHT against firms such as Stanford's Ponzi scheme.
A close scrutiny and evaluation of political campaign "contributions" and related "votes on legislation" will unequivocally demonstrate that our Congress has "SOLD OUT" the American people . . . and that has been done for less than a "penny on the dollar". Congress has sold out our nation for a pittance, relatively speaking.
It is past time to purge the vast majority of Congressmen who are unequivocally CORRUPT. It was the likes of Barney Frank, Mel Martinez, Ms Pelosi, Mr. Reid, Mr. Dodd, etc. who vehemently voted against the legislation that would have prevented and averted the economic disasters that have occurred . . . and NOW these CORRUPT 'politicians" are selling themselves as "being the 'leaders' of the recovery system". This is a total sham.
How long will the American people tolerate this "treason" and betrayal of the American people?