Breaking News: GM's CEO Fritz Henderson Steps Down

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Wow that was fast! GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson has stepped down. This has been quite a year for GM, since this is now the second CEO that GM has lost this year.

It’s not exactly known why Henderson has stepped down, but the past few months GM has had a rough time offloading Opel, Saab and Saturn. All three deals that were expected to conclude fell through. It’s also being reported that there was some clashing between Henderson and Chairman Ed Whitacre.

Chairman Ed Whitacre is going to act as the interim CEO until a replacement is found.

PRESS RELEASE:
GM Statement Attributed to To Chairman Ed Whitacre

At its monthly meeting in Detroit today, the General Motors Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Fritz Henderson as Director, President and CEO of the company.

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. To this end, I have taken over the role of Chairman and CEO while an international search for a new president and CEO begins immediately. With these new duties, I will begin working in the Renaissance Center headquarters on a daily basis. The leadership team – many who are with me today – are united and committed to the task at hand.

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. We now need to accelerate our progress toward that goal, which will also mean a return to profitability and repaying the American and Canadian tax payers as soon as possible.

In closing, I want to once again thank Fritz Henderson for his years of leadership and service to General Motors; we’re grateful for his many contributions. I look forward to working with the entire GM team as we now begin the next chapter of this great company.