Ford's number two stepping down

Mr Padilla is not being directly replaced

Ford's second most senior executive is stepping down, as the car giant continues to try to turn around its fortunes in the US.

President and chief operating officer Jim Padilla is retiring after 40 years with the business.

During that period, he headed manufacturing operations in North and South America and managed Jaguar.

He will not be directly replaced, with chief executive Bill Ford creating a new committee to oversee the business.

'New guard'

Members of the committee will include Mark Fields, who has been given responsibility for transforming Ford's struggling US business.

Like General Motors, the carmaker has lost share in its home market to foreign producers.

We have the right team for the job at hand Jim Padilla Ford looks to the future

Its North American operations made a $1.6bn (£914m) loss last year.

In response, Ford is cutting 30,000 jobs and closing 14 factories by 2012.

Mr Padilla, who will leave Ford's board in July, said he had every confidence in its future.

"We have the right team for the job at hand and it is time for me to allow them to grow even further and transition into the new roles that await them," he said.

Future options

Mr Padilla, 59, joined Ford as a quality control engineer in 1966.

One analyst said he expected that Mr Fields may eventually be given the role of chief operating officer if he succeeded in transforming Ford's US operations.

"Padilla is a very able executive but he is also the old guard," said David Healy, from Burnham Securities.

"I think Mark Fields will eventually be chief operating officer, but it's possible they might still bring in someone from outside the company."