New CEO Rich Gilligan Makes Bold Move in Hiring Outside Management Team

New CEO Rich Gilligan Makes Bold Move in Hiring Outside Management Team

Mitsubishi Motors North America (MMNA), the North American division of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC) that manufactures and overseas

Will Jay Alix and his team of turnaround experts at AlixPartners LLC be able to bring Mitsubishi back to profitability? (Photo: AlixPartners LLC)

sales of the automakers vehicles in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico, has retained turnaround experts AlixPartners LLC to advise during its restructuring stage.

The Japanese automaker's North American arm has faced serious hurdles over the past six months, nothing less than losing its recently appointed CEO Finbarr O'Neill, who, prior to joining MMNA jumped ship from Hyundai Motors, an automaker he successfully lead from poor profits to sustainability. MMNA also saw its senior marketing and advertising executives leave the company during this delicate period.

During his tenure, O'Neill instituted similar programs to those used with Hyundai in an effort to instill confidence to the buying public, such as the longest running

Without the aggressive warranty plans ex-CEO O'Neill implemented, sales could have dropped more than the 37 percent it experience in 2004. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

powertrain warranty in the automotive sector stretching 10 years or 160,000 kilometers, dubbed "The World's Best Backed Cars".

It is quite possible that without the aggressive warranty Mitsubishi's U.S. sales could have dropped more than the 37 percent it experience in 2004, but nevertheless nearly halving new car deliveries has taken its toll at the automaker's California headquarters as well as its Normal, Illinois assembly plant, now running at slightly more than 50 percent capacity after cutting 1,200 jobs and reducing production by 22 percent to 140,000 units annually. The plant can build a total of 270,000 vehicles at full capacity.