General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson said Tuesday, June 16, that executive leadership changes are coming this year.
“GM will be making changes both in the structure and processes to run the business, which includes, for example, reducing executive manpower by 34 percent from year-end 2008 through 2009,” Henderson said during a live Web chat with reporters. “Yes, there will be significant change.”
GM already has lost some key executives. Purchasing chief Bo Andersson, 53, left GM on June 12; Russian carmaker GAZ says Andersson will become its chairman.
On June 15, GM named longtime purchasing executive Robert Socia, 55, to replace Andersson as group vice president for purchasing and supply chain.
In May, Cadillac chief Mark McNabb left GM after just 13 months to join Maserati.
Henderson expects to cut about 20 percent of GM’s U.S. salaried workforce by year-end. At the end of 2008, GM had nearly 29,000 U.S. salaried employees; it expects to have 23,500 salaried workers by year-end.
Filed by Jamie LaReau of Automotive News, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.
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