mikered30
It looks official now:
BC-GM-Wagoner, 4th Ld-Writethru,1174
GM CEO Wagoner to step down at White House request
Eds: ADDS new 4th graf with source saying Chrysler management
apparently will stay. ADDS detail, background, GM statement. Will
be led. Moving on general news and financial services.
With: BC-GM-Wagoner-Bio Box
AP Photo NY111, NY112, NY113, NY110
By TOM KRISHER and KEN THOMAS
Associated Press Writers
DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick
Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White
House, administration officials said Sunday. The news comes as
President Obama prepares to unveil additional restructuring efforts
designed to save the domestic auto industry.
The officials asked not to be identified because details of the
restructuring plan have not yet been made public. On Monday, Obama
is to announce measures to restructure GM and Chrysler LLC in
exchange for additional government loans. The companies have been
living on $17.4 billion in government aid and have requested $21.6
billion more.
Wagoner's departure indicates that more management changes may
be part of the deal, but it is still unclear who will be put in
charge of GM. The automaker recently promoted Fritz Henderson, its
former chief financial officer, to become president and chief
operating officer. Many in the company thought he would eventually
succeed Wagoner.
Detroit-based GM issued a statement Sunday saying only that the
company expects a decision by the administration soon but that "it
would not be appropriate for us to speculate on the content of any
announcement."
A person familiar with Chrysler's management said the company
has been given no indication that the government will require any
changes at the Auburn Hills, Mich., company, which has been led by
former Home Depot chief Robert Nardelli since August 2007. The
person also spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama's plan
has not been made public.
Wagoner, 56, has repeatedly said he felt it was better for the
company if he led it through the crisis, but he has faced sharp
criticism on Capitol Hill for what many lawmakers regard as years
of missteps, mistakes and arrogance by the Big Three automakers.
Wagoner joined GM in 1977, serving in several capacities in the
U.S., Brazil and Europe. He became president and chief executive in
2000 and has served as chairman and CEO since May 2003.
Obama said Sunday that GM and Chrysler and all those with a
stake in their survival need to take more hard steps to help the
struggling automakers restructure for the future. In an interview
with CBS' "Face the Nation" broadcast Sunday, Obama said the
companies must do more to receive additional financial aid from the
government.
"They're not there yet," he said.
A person familiar with Obama's plans said last week they would
go deeper than what the Bush administration demanded when it
approved the initial loans last year.
Wagoner, in an interview with The Associated Press in December,
had declined to speculate on suggestions from some members of
Congress that GM's leadership team should step down as part of any
rescue package.
"I'm doing what I do because it adds a lot of value to the
company," Wagoner said in a Dec. 4 interview as GM sought federal
aid from the Bush administration. "It's not clear to me that
experience in this industry should be viewed as a negative but I'm
going to do what's right for the company and I'll do it in
consultation with the (GM) board (of directors)."
Wagoner has been credited by auto industry analysts with doing
more to restructure the giant bureaucratic automaker than any other
executive. But given that he has been at GM's helm for so long,
many of his critics say he moved far too slowly to take on the
United Auto Workers and shrink the company as its market share
tumbled.
While GM has improved its cars in the last two years, critics
say the company relied for too long on sales of pickup trucks and
sport utility vehicles for its profits and was unprepared for a
drastic market shift when gasoline prices hit $4 per gallon last
year.
During the Congressional debate over whether to give GM and
Chrysler loans last year, many lawmakers criticized Wagoner,
including Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Banking
Committee.
He accused automakers' top management of having a
"head-in-the-sand" approach to problems and said Wagoner "has to
move on" as part of a government-run restructuring that should be
a condition of financial life support for the auto industry.
David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in
Ann Arbor, Mich., said Sunday that Wagoner's departure gives the
government a rationale to provide additional aid to the automaker.
He was not surprised by the move, but said he is disappointed
because he considers Wagoner a capable leader.
"I think that as a condition for further government support,
this helps give them a little cover with the public," Cole said.
"Essentially he's taking one for the team."
Cole noted that other automakers have been shaking up management
as well. He pointed to Toyota Motor Corp., whose president,
Katsuaki Watanabe, recently said he would be stepping down as the
Japanese automaker weathers financial difficulty. Also, France's
biggest carmaker, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, abruptly ousted CEO
Christian Streiff on Sunday, saying "exceptional difficulties"
confronting the auto industry require new management at the top.
Cole said Nardelli's departure is less likely than Wagoner's
because Nardelli is "relatively new" to the automaker, with less
than two years at the helm.
Many GM executives likely will be disappointed at Wagoner's
departure, Cole said.
"They had great affection for Rick -- someone that's fair, that
acts like a coach, that holds people's feet to the fire but has a
good understanding of human behavior," Cole said.
GM and Chrysler were required by the Bush administration to get
major concessions from debtholders and the United Auto Workers,
with a deadline of March 31 for signed contracts. But very little
headway was being made with either party this weekend as they
awaited Obama's announcement.
Members of Obama's auto task force have said bankruptcy could
still be an option for GM and Chrysler if their management,
workers, creditors and shareholders failed to make sacrifices. Both
companies are trying to reduce their debt by two-thirds and
convince the United Auto Workers union to accept shares of stock in
exchange for half of the payments into a union-run trust fund for
retiree health care costs. The deals also call for executive pay
cuts and labor costs that are competitive with Japanese automakers
with U.S. operations.
Bondholders have been reluctant to accept the cuts, saying
they're being required to sacrifice more than others, but they have
been reviewing a recent offer by GM. The union has agreed to other
terms of the loans, including work rule changes and reducing total
hourly labor costs at U.S factories to a level comparable with
Japanese automakers.
------
Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas reported from Washington,
D.C. AP Auto Writer Dan Strumpf contributed from New York.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV-03-29-09 1640PDT
BC-GM-Wagoner, 4th Ld-Writethru,1174
GM CEO Wagoner to step down at White House request
Eds: ADDS new 4th graf with source saying Chrysler management
apparently will stay. ADDS detail, background, GM statement. Will
be led. Moving on general news and financial services.
With: BC-GM-Wagoner-Bio Box
AP Photo NY111, NY112, NY113, NY110
By TOM KRISHER and KEN THOMAS
Associated Press Writers
DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick
Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White
House, administration officials said Sunday. The news comes as
President Obama prepares to unveil additional restructuring efforts
designed to save the domestic auto industry.
The officials asked not to be identified because details of the
restructuring plan have not yet been made public. On Monday, Obama
is to announce measures to restructure GM and Chrysler LLC in
exchange for additional government loans. The companies have been
living on $17.4 billion in government aid and have requested $21.6
billion more.
Wagoner's departure indicates that more management changes may
be part of the deal, but it is still unclear who will be put in
charge of GM. The automaker recently promoted Fritz Henderson, its
former chief financial officer, to become president and chief
operating officer. Many in the company thought he would eventually
succeed Wagoner.
Detroit-based GM issued a statement Sunday saying only that the
company expects a decision by the administration soon but that "it
would not be appropriate for us to speculate on the content of any
announcement."
A person familiar with Chrysler's management said the company
has been given no indication that the government will require any
changes at the Auburn Hills, Mich., company, which has been led by
former Home Depot chief Robert Nardelli since August 2007. The
person also spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama's plan
has not been made public.
Wagoner, 56, has repeatedly said he felt it was better for the
company if he led it through the crisis, but he has faced sharp
criticism on Capitol Hill for what many lawmakers regard as years
of missteps, mistakes and arrogance by the Big Three automakers.
Wagoner joined GM in 1977, serving in several capacities in the
U.S., Brazil and Europe. He became president and chief executive in
2000 and has served as chairman and CEO since May 2003.
Obama said Sunday that GM and Chrysler and all those with a
stake in their survival need to take more hard steps to help the
struggling automakers restructure for the future. In an interview
with CBS' "Face the Nation" broadcast Sunday, Obama said the
companies must do more to receive additional financial aid from the
government.
"They're not there yet," he said.
A person familiar with Obama's plans said last week they would
go deeper than what the Bush administration demanded when it
approved the initial loans last year.
Wagoner, in an interview with The Associated Press in December,
had declined to speculate on suggestions from some members of
Congress that GM's leadership team should step down as part of any
rescue package.
"I'm doing what I do because it adds a lot of value to the
company," Wagoner said in a Dec. 4 interview as GM sought federal
aid from the Bush administration. "It's not clear to me that
experience in this industry should be viewed as a negative but I'm
going to do what's right for the company and I'll do it in
consultation with the (GM) board (of directors)."
Wagoner has been credited by auto industry analysts with doing
more to restructure the giant bureaucratic automaker than any other
executive. But given that he has been at GM's helm for so long,
many of his critics say he moved far too slowly to take on the
United Auto Workers and shrink the company as its market share
tumbled.
While GM has improved its cars in the last two years, critics
say the company relied for too long on sales of pickup trucks and
sport utility vehicles for its profits and was unprepared for a
drastic market shift when gasoline prices hit $4 per gallon last
year.
During the Congressional debate over whether to give GM and
Chrysler loans last year, many lawmakers criticized Wagoner,
including Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Banking
Committee.
He accused automakers' top management of having a
"head-in-the-sand" approach to problems and said Wagoner "has to
move on" as part of a government-run restructuring that should be
a condition of financial life support for the auto industry.
David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in
Ann Arbor, Mich., said Sunday that Wagoner's departure gives the
government a rationale to provide additional aid to the automaker.
He was not surprised by the move, but said he is disappointed
because he considers Wagoner a capable leader.
"I think that as a condition for further government support,
this helps give them a little cover with the public," Cole said.
"Essentially he's taking one for the team."
Cole noted that other automakers have been shaking up management
as well. He pointed to Toyota Motor Corp., whose president,
Katsuaki Watanabe, recently said he would be stepping down as the
Japanese automaker weathers financial difficulty. Also, France's
biggest carmaker, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, abruptly ousted CEO
Christian Streiff on Sunday, saying "exceptional difficulties"
confronting the auto industry require new management at the top.
Cole said Nardelli's departure is less likely than Wagoner's
because Nardelli is "relatively new" to the automaker, with less
than two years at the helm.
Many GM executives likely will be disappointed at Wagoner's
departure, Cole said.
"They had great affection for Rick -- someone that's fair, that
acts like a coach, that holds people's feet to the fire but has a
good understanding of human behavior," Cole said.
GM and Chrysler were required by the Bush administration to get
major concessions from debtholders and the United Auto Workers,
with a deadline of March 31 for signed contracts. But very little
headway was being made with either party this weekend as they
awaited Obama's announcement.
Members of Obama's auto task force have said bankruptcy could
still be an option for GM and Chrysler if their management,
workers, creditors and shareholders failed to make sacrifices. Both
companies are trying to reduce their debt by two-thirds and
convince the United Auto Workers union to accept shares of stock in
exchange for half of the payments into a union-run trust fund for
retiree health care costs. The deals also call for executive pay
cuts and labor costs that are competitive with Japanese automakers
with U.S. operations.
Bondholders have been reluctant to accept the cuts, saying
they're being required to sacrifice more than others, but they have
been reviewing a recent offer by GM. The union has agreed to other
terms of the loans, including work rule changes and reducing total
hourly labor costs at U.S factories to a level comparable with
Japanese automakers.
------
Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas reported from Washington,
D.C. AP Auto Writer Dan Strumpf contributed from New York.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV-03-29-09 1640PDT
Am I the only one who finds it wrong he's doing this because the government is asking him to? What say should the government have in private business? And when they make a statement, who's says you should listen? This is absurd... socialism here we come.
And another one bites the dust......Ya know, The gov does such a good job running the DMV, with their 4 hour lines, and the social security office, my wife only had to wait 3 hours to change her name when we got married, I just can't wait to see them take over healthcare and the the auto industry, its gonna be GREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT. 
I'm not sure what to make of this, Wagoner should have been out long before this. His best decision in his entire career as CEO for GM was to hire Lutz, aside from that he's been a disaster especially pre-Lutz. My only worry is about who's replacing him, ideally Lutz is clearly the best GM had...of course he's now retired so someone with that same passion for cars will have to do. If GM hires a bean counter CEO they're finished since good cars don't come cheap.
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