GM - Fritz Henderson Gone!!??

[Bluehoon]

Spotted this, wtf?

http://www.smh.com.au/business/gm-fi...1202-k4uf.html

General Motors chief executive Fritz Henderson has abruptly resigned, after the company's board decided it wanted to chart a new course for the restructuring automaker.

Mr Henderson was asked by the board to step down at a meeting in Detroit overnight after being on the job for just eight months, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

GM chairman Ed Whitacre, 68, will become interim chief executive as the automaker begins an immediate search for a replacement, the company said.

The announcement of Mr Henderson's sudden departure underscored the tough oversight being exerted by a slate of new GM directors led by Mr Whitacre and selected by the automaker's majority shareholder, the US Treasury.

Mr Henderson, 51, became CEO in March after his predecessor, Rick Wagoner, was forced out by the Obama administration as part of the US government-funded restructuring of GM.

"The board decided - and Fritz agreed - that given where we are, it was time to make some changes," GM spokesman Chris Preuss said at a hastily arranged news conference.

Mr Whitacre, a former AT&T chief executive, became chairman of GM in July as part of a new board vetted by the US Treasury and intended to safeguard the government's $US50 billion investment in the automaker.

The US government has a majority stake in GM, but the Obama administration has repeatedly said that it is leaving oversight of the company to Mr Whitacre and the board.

"This decision was made by the board of directors alone. The administration was not involved in the decision," a White House spokeswoman said.

Who’s next?

Mr Whitacre, who became the public face of GM in its first ad campaign after bankruptcy, appeared briefly before reporters at GM's headquarters in Detroit but did not take questions on why the board had chosen to part ways with Mr Henderson.

Mr Whitacre said Mr Henderson, who helped GM through its July bankruptcy, had "done a remarkable job in leading the company through an unprecedented period of challenge and change."

"While momentum has been building over the past several months, all involved agree that changes needed to be made," Mr Whitacre said.

Mr Whitacre, a plain-spoken Texan who said he knew nothing about the auto industry when he became GM chairman, has surprised GM insiders by making unannounced plant visits and putting blunt questions to workers at all levels.

With his move to become GM's interim CEO, all three US automakers are now headed by outsiders to Detroit.

Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally left Boeing in 2006. Chrysler is now run by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Mr Whitacre has complained that pay restrictions imposed on GM have made it hard to hire external talent, but the board will likely look for an outsider who can better sell the vision of a revived GM, analysts and industry executives said.

"Mr Whitacre wants an outside CEO. He's looking for another Alan Mulally," said Logan Robinson, a longtime auto industry executive and professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

Mr Henderson, a career GM executive, had vowed when he became CEO to reform the slow-moving culture that contributed to the automaker's collapse.

Strategy questioned

But GM's faltering efforts to sell off its laggard brands dominated Mr Henderson's short tenure and tarnished his reputation as a dealmaker and raised questions about the company's strategy.

First, Detroit-based dealership group Penske Automotive Group pulled out of a deal that would have had it acquire GM's Saturn brand in late September. Then last month, GM's board shifted course on a planned sale of the company's European Opel unit, rejecting a deal that Mr Henderson had backed and helped broker.

In the most recent setback, Swedish luxury car builder Koenigsegg dropped a planned acquisition of GM's Saab brand.

Last month, in statements that some read as an implicit rebuke of Mr Henderson, Mr Whitacre seemed to question the aggressive timetable for an initial public offering of GM stock that had been outlined by Mr Henderson.

"At the end of the day, it seems a little bit inevitable," said David Bitterman, managing director at Huron Consulting. "Obviously, Whitacre and Fritz didn't envision the new GM in the same way."

GM's board said it would consider other potential deals to sell Saab over the next month but wind down its operations if it concluded that none could be reached.

[Jason[98.EL]]

not looking good for G.M as a whole atm

how can the afford to get an outsider in ?

or are they going to did deeper into the gov coffers

Love this comment

"Mr Whitacre wants an outside CEO. He's looking for another Alan Mulally," said Logan Robinson, a longtime auto industry executive and professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

Looks like G.M envy what ford have

Jason

[vztrt]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/49752/gm...erson-resigns/

GM CEO Henderson resigns

December 2, 2009 by Tim Beissmann

General Motors CEO, Fritz Henderson, has resigned today after the board decided that he was not the man to lead the company into the future.

The search for a replacement president and CEO will start immediately, with Chairman Edward Whitacre to succeed Henderson on an interim basis.

Whitacre today praised the efforts of Henderson, who assumed the top spot from Rick Wagoner in March and led the company through 39 days of bankruptcy.

“Fritz has done a remarkable job in leading the company through an unprecedented period of challenge and change.

“While momentum has been building over the past several months, all involved agree that changes needed to be made,” Whitacre said.

Whitacre emphasised that the change of leadership would not impact the day-to-day running of the company or its ambitions to return to profitability and repay its debts in the near future.

“I want to assure all of our employees, dealers, suppliers, union partners and most of all, our customers, that GM’s daily business operations will continue as normal.

“I remain more convinced than ever that our company is on the right path and that we will continue to be a leader in offering the worldwide buying public the highest quality, highest value cars and trucks.”

General Motors has not posted an annual profit since 2004 and sales have slumped in 2009.

Figures of US light-vehicle sales released today confirm a 32 per cent collapse year-to-date compared to 2008, or almost one million vehicles.

[Chilliman]

I can't see any light at the end of the tunnel for GM. The sale of both Saturn and SAAB having fallen through and the pittance they received for Hummer (I think they wanted $500M but only got $150M?). On top of that a $1.2Billion loss last quarter.

I can't fathom why the board of GM reversed the decision to sell 55% of Opel - it would have bought in much needed cash and retired debt - now they'll have to find $3Billion to restructure Opel and another $1.5Billion to pay back the German Government!

Then there's the issue of the Korean Development Bank Loan (another couple-of-Billion) which threatens to derail not only the production of the Cruze in Australia but also local assembly of the V6.

[Swordsman88]

This is getting a bit messy (well more messy) for GM...... Check out this news report: http://www.news.com.au/business/daug...-1225806538486

Originally Posted by news.com.au

'Daughter' of ex-GM chief executive Fritz Henderson lashes out on Facebook


* GM boss suddenly resigns this week
* "Daughter" defends him on Facebook
* GM quickly removes post from page

A WOMAN claiming to be the daughter of General Motor's former chief executive Fritz Henderson has lashed out at the company claiming his resignation was anything but voluntary.

Mr Henderson, 51, suddenly left the car-maker after eight months at the helm earlier this week.

He was replaced by Board Chairman Ed Whitacre, who will serve as chairman and CEO while a search for a permanent replacement is conducted.

Shortly after the announcement the Facebook account of Sarah Henderson posted an expletive-ridden message on the General Motors Facebook page.

The post said that she was Mr Henderson's daughter and that he did not resign. It then went on to accuse Mr Whitacre of being a less-than-decent human being who cared only about himself and not the company.

The post, a 58-word missive in capitals (the internet equivalent of shouting), manages to use the F-word six times, both as adjective and verb.

GM quickly removed the post but it was picked up by car industry blog Jalopnik.com.

The rant, although not a major issue for the company, highlights the problems that can occur when companies use social networking sites.

Conservative companies can often find themselves at odds with the "anything-goes" culture of the web.

London's Daily Mail said it had proved impossible to verify whether this Sarah Henderson was the ex-CEO's daughter and pointed out there were more than 330 Sarah Hendersons on the US site of Facebook.

Mr Henderson has not commented on the post.

GM is under huge pressure to reform its operations with the US Government now holding a 62 per cent stake after giving it it $US50 billion ($53.87 billion) in aid.

The company has lost more than $US80billion in the past four years.

GM told the London Times it would not comment on the post, insisting that family members of employees were "off limits".

"Sarah Henderson's" post: "HE F---ING GOT ASKED TO SETEP DOWN ALL OF YOU F---ING IDIOTS. IM FRITZ'S F---ING DAUGHTER, AND HE DID NOT F---ING RESIGN. WHITACRE IS A SELFISH PIECE OF SHIFT (sic), WHO CARES ABOUT HIMSELF AND NOT THE F---ING COMPANY. HAVE FUN WITH GM, I HOPE TO NEVER BUY FROM THIS GOD FORESAKEN COMPANY EVERY AGAIN [sic]. F--- ALL OF YOU."

[vztrt]

'Shocked' Lutz tight lipped on Fritz

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...25768100066C30

Bob Lutz fills in as LA show speaker but refuses to fill in gaps on GM CEO departure

3 December 2009
By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS in LOS ANGELES
OUTSPOKEN car industry veteran and General Motors vice-chairman Bob Lutz today expressed sorrow at the sudden departure of former GM CEO Fritz Henderson.

Replacing Mr Henderson as the guest speaker on the first press day of the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show, Mr Lutz said he had been both shocked and saddened at the turn of events.

However, Mr Lutz made it clear that he would not discuss or entertain speculation with the assembled media on why his former boss left so abruptly just under 24 hours earlier.

“I have to apologise because there’s not much news coming out of the General Motors Corporation lately,” he joked.

“I know we’re doing very little to fill in the pages of newspapers and the TV screens.

“But I know that all of you want the inside story of what truly transpired at General Motors yesterday ... and I am not going to give it to you ... but I will say this:

“I think all of us were surprised and the whole General Motors team is genuinely saddened at what may have transpired.

“Fritz is without question a great executive – one of the absolute finest executives I have ever worked for.

“He is given to an enormous intelligence, a broad knowledge of the business, exceptional common sense, and he guided General Motors through perhaps the most difficult journey in its whole history, called bankruptcy and emerging from bankruptcy.

“I knew him personally and on a personal basis am very sad to see him go.

“But meanwhile, we’ve got a large, great corporation to run with new shareholders, and we are going to do our hardest to keep our focus on the products, because at the end of the day that is what’s going to save the company.

“So when it comes to questions please keep to that stuff because I will definitely be Mr Teflon when it comes to the Fritz subject …”

Mr Lutz went on to speak about GM’s future product plans, and chose to focus on the progress of the Volt range-extender electric vehicle and how it was on time for a late-2010 release to both retail buyers as well as companies.

He also discussed GM’s better-than-expected financial position in the post Chapter 11 bankruptcy period as a result of the huge cuts in jobs, models, brands and factories that had to occur over the last year.

When an American journalist asked a question about the circumstances surrounding Mr Henderson’s hasty exit, the 77-year-old Lutz smiled wryly and then after a brief pause said: “Next question!”

[vztrt]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/50445/gm...-within-weeks/

GM CFO to be announced within weeks

December 9, 2009 by Tim Beissmann

General Motors is close to appointing a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) after a week of positional shuffling at the top, according to the company’s Chairman and interim CEO, Ed Whitacre.

Whitacre was hopeful that an announcement would be made within two to three weeks and said that “a real good candidate” had presented to replace Ray Young in the job.

Other shake-ups last week saw Susan Docherty promoted to vice president of sales, service and marketing for the US and ex-Holden managing director Mark Reuss stepping up as president of GM North America.

Talking to reporters in a web-based chat today, Whitacre was asked how much time the new recruits would have to show results before getting the boot like dismissed CEO Fritz Henderson.

His response: “Not long :-)”.

Whitacre said that the pay restrictions placed on GM executives made hiring a CEO from outside the company difficult and admitted that he was not sure whether the restrictions would be limited once GM paid back its senior debt to the US Government.

He also confirmed that there were currently no plans for further job cuts at any level of GM’s US operations.

(with Automotive News)

[mik]

as an outsider i would take from these heads rolling that GM is still going down hill, is that a fair assesment?