We’ll be liveblogging the Senate hearings on the bailout of the big three American automakers. We’ll sift through the oft-dull C-Span coverage so you don’t have to. Follow along after the jump.

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Ford will give up its controlling stake in Mazda by selling 20% of the Japanese automaker for $450 million. The company is in desperate need for cash after its October sales dropped by 30%. Two Ford members will get the boot from Mazda’s board of directors, but the operations of the two companies will likely continue to be cooperative in the short-term.

A cowardly anonymous analyst had this to say about the deal:

“From a strategic perspective there’s not much change, but it was a desperate move by Ford, selling at this low price, and Mazda had no choice but to buy back part of it because they couldn’t find enough buyers.”

[Reuters] Ford abandons Mazda control with 20 percent stake sale

Ford’s October sales drop was almost as bad as September — the company saw a 30% plummet in sold cars. The abysmal sales over the last few months are no doubt going to truck Ford’s third quarter financial numbers set to be released Friday. Expect to see red.

[Yahoo Finance] Ford reports October sales dropped 30 percent

The Wall St. Journal has sources “familiar with the matter” who claim that Ford’s ex-CFO, Don Leclair, was pushed out by other “high-level company officials.” According to the paper’s sources, at least two of these executives discussed resigning if Leclair was allowed to continue as the company’s CFO. The article is vague about the specific reasons — it only says that there was friction because:

“Mr. Leclair had been too forceful in pursuing his own agenda without informing other vice presidents in a timely way of his plans.”

Whatever that means…

The Wall Street Journal: Ford Friction Led to Leclair’s Exit

Fucked Ford has just announced that September was its worst sales month of the year. Sales of its autos in the U.S. was down 34% from the same month last year. This will be offset slightly by Ford’s share of the $25 billion rescue package that Uncle Sam just delivered to U.S. automakers.

More info: Breitbart

The brain surgeons running Ford lost a staggering $8.4 billion in the second quarter. Don’t worry, though — Ford wants you to know that they are “retooling” their SUV and truck plans. It’s likely that this means they’re going to laying off a shitload of people who actually do their jobs while the assholes at the top are going to continue running the company into the ground.

Ford’s chief technical officer has let it slip that Ford will be trimming back members of its research staff in Aachen, Germany. Ford mouthpiece, Marcey Evans had this to say about the layoffs:

“We are constantly working to maintain an affordable business structure.”

Can you really say that you’re “maintaining an affordable business structure” when you lost $2.7 billion last year?

Because Ford’s management is so inept and hasn’t transitioned away from gas-guzzling SUVs, they are closing one of their Expedition factories and laying off 1,400 workers. Displaying a dazzling mastery of hindsight, Ford mouthpiece Angie Kozleski said:

“We are going to do what we need to do to make sure our capacity is in line with demand”

Applause to Ford for figuring out that SUV demand was going to drop after it has already dropped.

Source: CNN Money