Oct 4, 2017

New Ford CEO presents plan for the automaker

Jim Hackett (left), newly named Ford Motor Company CEO, speaks with Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman, in Dearborn, Mich. / AP's Paul Sancya

Ford's new CEO James Hackett presented his plan for the automaker to analysts on Tuesday, which will include cost cutting, a significant shift to electric vehicles, and continued investment in self-driving car technology and transportation services.

Why it matters: Hackett's appointment was said to be a move by the company's board to help Ford catch up in the autonomous driving race, which includes rival automakers like General Motors and Tesla, along with tech companies like Alphabet, Uber, and Lyft.

The plan:

  • Cut costs by $14 billion over the next five years.
  • Shift toward electric cars (one-third of planned investment in gas and diesel engines will be reallocated to electric or hybrid cars).
  • Reallocate $7 billion in capital from developing passenger cars to trucks and SUVs.
  • Shift to connected vehicles that have an Internet connection (all new U.S. cars by 2019, 90% of new Ford cars globally by 2020).
  • Continue to invest in self-driving car technology and transportation services.

Go deeper

U.S. coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios. This graphic includes "probable deaths" that New York City began reporting on April 14.

House Democrats asked Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for more information Thursday on how the agency chose which companies to award $1.2 billion in food assistance contracts.

By the numbers: More than 98,400 people have died from COVID-19 and over 1.6 million have tested positive in the U.S. Over 379,100 Americans have recovered and more than 14.6 million tests have been conducted.

Go deeper (2 min. read)ArrowUpdated 10 mins ago - Health

Pentagon watchdog sidelined by Trump resigns

Fine testiying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Glenn Fine, the Pentagon's principal deputy inspector general, submitted his resignation on Tuesday.

Why it matters: President Trump removed Fine as the Pentagon's acting inspector general in April 7 after a group of independent federal watchdogs selected him to lead the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, which was set up to oversee the rollout of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

Go deeper (1 min. read)ArrowUpdated 13 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 2:30 p.m. ET: 5,547,523 — Total deaths: 348,040 — Total recoveries — 2,269,422 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 2:30 p.m. ET: 1,671,728 — Total deaths: 98,493 — Total recoveries: 379,157 — Total tested: 14,604,942 — Map.
  3. Trump administration: Mike Pence's press secretary returns to work.
  4. States: New York reports lowest number of new coronavirus deaths since March.
  5. Public health: The final data for remdesivir is in, and its benefits are rather limited.
  6. Space: How to virtually watch SpaceX's historic crewed launch.
  7. What should I do? Hydroxychloroquine questions answered — Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious — Masks, lending books and self-isolating — Exercise, laundry, what counts as soap — Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — How to minimize your risk.
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it, the right mask to wear.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Updated 20 mins ago - Politics & Policy