Cramer: Ousted Ford CEO Mark Fields was in an 'impossible situation'

Former Ford CEO Mark Fields was faced with an "impossible timeframe" to turn the Michigan-based automaker around and should have been given more time, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Monday.

Earlier, Ford said Fields would retire on Monday and Jim Hackett, chairman of Ford Smart Mobility, would replace him. Ford's board reportedly began discussing the change earlier this year as the company's market capitalization fell behind Tesla 's.

Fields, who spent nearly three years at Ford's helm, was criticized during an annual shareholder meeting earlier this month for Ford's sluggish financial results.

"He had a difficult situation. He was told to develop an autonomous car. He's told to be a worldwide guy. You do have peak auto in the U.S. and U.S. is really where Ford has made its biggest strides. So, it's kind of an impossible situation," Cramer said on " Squawk Box ."

"I was not surprised," He added. "If you judge a guy by a stock price, I guess he had to go."

Later on " Squawk on the Street ," Cramer said it was unfair for Fields to be ousted as the company had the impossible task to compete in the autonomous car space with Google's Alphabet and Tesla CEO Elon Musk .

Executive Chairman Bill Ford said in a statement on Monday that Hackett's appointment will " transform Ford for the future ," calling him a "true visionary who brings a unique, human-centered leadership approach to our culture, products and services that will unlock the potential of our people and our business."

Ford held a news conference on Monday morning to discuss the changes.