Ford Exec Gives Up Plane Perk to Calm Restive Ranks

Mark Fields, head of Ford's flailing North American business unit, has made the supreme sacrifice to soothe his disgruntled minions. In a broadcast to Ford employees this morning, Fields announced that he'll no longer be taking the company plane — free of charge — from Detroit to his south Florida home each weekend.

The heat Fields has taken for his airborne perk — which cost Ford $214,479 for Q4 2005 alone, according to the company — makes global warming look like a day at the Ice Capades. Not without reason, as the Wall Street Journal notes [subscription required]:

Mr. Fields, who was put in charge of Ford's largest unit in October 2005, has presided over an increasingly steep slide in sales and profitability. Ford lost $3.3 billion in North America through the first nine months of 2006 as part of a $7 billion overall loss. For the same period in 2005, Ford lost $1.3 billion in North America.

Meanwhile, Ford North America is cutting its 82,000-employee hourly work force in half, eliminating another 14,000 salaried positions, reducing product markups at a time of falling sales, trimming dealerships, and (the horror!) pressing other senior execs — who don't enjoy a similar perk — to move their families to Detroit.

Between Ford's decrepit (and unprofitable) product lineup and upcoming contract talks with the UAW, Fields has acknowledged that "there will be turbulence along the way." Next trip home, he may be better off driving.