Henry's Boy Gets A Job

When handsome, smooth Charles E. Sorensen was squeezed out as Henry Ford's production boss three months ago, he flopped down on a Florida beach to rest. Last week, his rest was up. He stepped in as the new president of bouncing Willys-Overland Motors, Inc., and perhaps, in the carnivorous auto industry, to try to take a revengeful hunk out of spry old Henry's hide. Willys, which has been hunting a president since Joseph Washington Fraser quit eight months ago, kept mum on details of the deal. But it was reported that in addition to Sorensen's salary (Ford paid him $220,000 yearly) he got an option on a sizable chunk of Willys stock.* Thus he would pay only a 25% capital-gains tax on any stock profit, provided he held the stock six months, compared to about 80% income tax on such a high-bracket salary--the device made fashionable by Harry Sinclair and Spyros Skouras (TIME, May 29 and June 5).

In the last year, Ford has lopped off many of his top executives. As always, he has thus helped to staff his competitors with his men and spread Ford's closely guarded production secrets throughout the motor world. Biggest beneficiary in point of numbers by last week was Nash-Kelvinator; motormen call it the "Ford alumni club."

But the biggest trouble for Henry will probably come from a Sorensen-run Willys. Once in receivership, war-rich Willys netted a healthy profit of $1,558,369 in the six months ended March 31, has $6,862,156 tucked away to build postwar autos. Most important, the jeep designed by Willys and Army Ordnance (TIME, Nov. 3, 1941) has sold itself to the world. No one doubted that Charlie Sorensen intends to duplicate the feat of Big Bill Knudsen who was squeezed out of Ford in 1921. Knudsen went to General Motors, and by booming Chevrolet sales, stole such a vast chunk of the small-car market from Ford that the old man has never regained his supremacy.

*Willys stock has lately been one of the most active on the New York Exchange. From 8 1/4 on May 24, it has boomed to 12 at last week's end.

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