The chairman and chief executive of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, is resigning, just hours before President Obama was expected to unveil his rescue plans for G.M. and the ailing American auto industry. The unexpected move by Rick Wagoner, who has been at the helm of G.M. for eight years, was not confirmed by the company.
Mr. Wagoner was asked to step down as part of G.M.’s restructuring agreement with the Obama administration, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement has not been made yet. He then agreed to resign.
The unexpected move by Mr. Wagoner, who has been at the helm of G.M. for eight years, was not confirmed by the company. A statement about Mr. Wagoner’s future will be issued after the president’s comments, which is expected to be Monday morning…
The president’s auto task force is expected to recommend more short-term assistance to the two Detroit companies, but with tight strings attached to the money and a new deadline to get concessions from union workers and creditors.
No word on who is waiting in the wings for the gig.
“tight strings attached”, is putting it mildly. Wagoner didn’t want to become a civil servant.
Guaranteed that his replacement is a friend of Obama or Geitner. Maybe even a former executive of Monsanto or Iridium.
Great (not) I bet a bean counter is chosen to be CEO, not a ‘car guy’.
Will we ever see the new Camero?
You can shove the VOLT thing where the sun don’t shine.
Hell, get Jay Leno to run the thing..
This whole thing sucks.
Is the Obama Administration conducting the hiring interview?
JACK WELCH!!! seems he is looking for another challenge. maybe obama can talk him into the job to help the country eh??
Maybe it is too little too late, but I’m quite sure the major players in the whole economic collapse should also have been replaced.
Hmmm…..
Funny, BHO didn’t give the boot to any of the bankers that are taking us down the tubes. Oh, that’s right, he hired them to be his advisers.
@#3: “Great (not) I bet a bean counter is chosen to be CEO, not a ‘car guy’.” – It is business to be run. Idiot “car guys” do not belong to the position of running companies. Cars “car guys” want (and did produce) satisfy needs of a small fraction of the population: the other “car guys”. You can run such company if you want to build 10000 cars per year (good example: Mini Cooper). You can’t run such company if your goal is to produce millions of cars. Well, you can use marketing geniuses and trick the population into buying what you make (SUVs) but the first crisis and that model falls apart.
So, firing “marketing geniuses” and “car guys” is the only way to escape collapse. Someone should run GM who wants to win customers with quality and reliability (Honda?) which majority wants (and hence millions of such cars can be sold). “Car Guys” are free to form new companies and make small batches of cars that tickle their fancy with power and size which “car guys” likely lack themselves.
When the team is losing they get a new coach.
It is abundantly clear that GM top brass were a bunch of money wasters who didn’t hastate to blow millions on living the high life even though the company was on the ropes.
The new guy at the top had still better be a car lover with a flair for design rather than just a bean counter or this isn’t going to work.
Just think of all the fun our car “experts” had – and obviously miss – when the neocon 1.0 crowd poured trillions into nation-building. And death. Perfectly acceptable.
Nary a peep.
Since it’s already Monday in the U.K., some of the embargoed parts of the story are coming out in “tomorrow’s” Guardian. Including the bit that Wagoner’s exit was a direct request from the White House:
http://tinyurl.com/ck9tyn
Without a more detailed discussion explaining why he had to go now, I’ll reserve judgement on the go-or-else claim. At best a symbolic gesture. One person leaving won’t make the cars better.
I do note that when a union, the members of which produce tangible goods, is involved congress and the executive branch are not at all hesitant to tie the money to concessions.
When the to-big-to-fail behemoth produces nothing tangible, but makes its money by taking risks with other folk’s money, there are no strings. Rather, multiple payments are made with the assurance that more will be provided if that is not enough.
When a complete lack of appreciation for what the taxpayers are doing for these companies comes to light (bonuses for the already wealthy despite trully awful corporate performance), there is only hand waving and bluster. No one goes to jail. The wealthy do not loose their jobs. They probably won’t loose there bonuses or even sleep.
I am not surprised. I am disgusted.
#13–keaneo==thanks. Nice read but it misses the meat: why did our government want him to step down? Be nice to see if the same “rule” got applied to every other bailout.
If you’re asking for bailouts, you should be resigning.
My only problem is, hasn’t Lutz been in charge for years?
“Unexpected?” Who DIDN’T see this coming?
Great. Now the White House is in the car business. It wasn’t GM that forced pickups and SUVs down the public’s pockets, the public wanted them bad enough to pay big bucks for ’em. Maybe that $4.00 / gallon gas had something to do with the market collapse.
Wagoner’s only been CEO since 2003. Hardly enough time to turn the whole country’s desires for autos around.
Say, don’t Honda, Toyota and Nissan build gas guzzling SUVs too? Good luck taking them over as well.
Some complete and utter idiotic piece of SHIT said, on March 29th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Can’t wait till Obama is out the door…
Yeah! This mess didn’t take 30 years to build up.
It just happened over the last 2 months.
IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!
GM should be going into chapter 11 then chapter 7.
I think they should choose someone who knows a thing or two about automotive safety.
Why not Ted (Hic) Kennedy?
GM has lost over 90% of its value since he took the big desk in 03. And he has been in charge of North American Ops for the last 15 years. This guy has made a downward slope that a Ski Resort would love to have. He killed the EV1 electric-car and put hybrids out to pasture just when that R&D was most needed. His inability to see what the rest of us knew had to be coming since 1973 is unforgivable. His decisions to go after the high profit big SUVs and Light Trucks market was fine. Especially after all the cheap gas and easy credit of the fast money 90s but he failed to put satisfactory resources into efficient reliable cars(yes for a time it would have been a lost leader) so they would still be in the game when the winds eventually changed. It’s a wonder that the Epsilon based Malibu is somewhat competitive. You did not need a crystal ball to know the winds would eventually change.
By now they should only have 3 US brands
Chevrolet
Buick
Cadillac
All the rest only add to manufacturing marketing and dealership overhead
Pontiac, GMC, Saturn, Saab, Hummer all just squander money.
Given the GMs brand name issues maybe drop Chevy and go with OPEL or Saturn instead.
I’m suspect Wagoner’s falling on his sword at this time has been well discussed with the rest of the GM Execs and the Obama Administration and is seen as the best strategic way to get GM on there feet. And not some sort of Marxism run amuck that the Obama haters think it is. face it the US government under GOP leaders has done this sort of thing with CEOs before. With the Obama’s openness you just get to here about it up front. You guys must still have the taste of sour grapes in your mouths. Face it you lost the election and would lose all over again if the vote were held today. We had to hold our noses during Nixon, Reagan, Bush 1 and Bush 2 it’s your turn to be disappointed again not the end world. Hey it will make Rush’s show tomorrow easy.
I do not have a problem with this guy geting the boot. My problem is it is the gov boot and not the board of directers. That being said, one of the most valuble lessions my dad taught me was when you take money from someone they own you.
Good Riddens! Don’t let the door hit you Rick!
But this goes much further then one man.
The company as a whole is still way too big for what market share it has.
Obama isn’t messing around in cleaning house when the fed comes in with bailout money.
THAT, is effective government. Refreshing.
#28 Alfred, I agree in some of what you say if I dismiss your premise which is just wild conjecture…
“Incorrect, that is nationalization…tyranny.”
No. A bailout should come with preconditions. You don’t want it? No bailout. Very simple, very elegant and very responsible precondition if they want to use of my money.Evidently, the departing CEO and board of directors agrees.
“Do you really want your bank, or hospital, run like the DMV?”
No. Seems like a general question so I agree with you.
“What government run program puts the customer first, gives superb government service, and is efficient in its use of taxpayer money…name one.”
A subjective question with no benchmarks but I’ll tell you what you want to hear – NONE! However, I suppose the military is good because the GOP like to give them lots of money.
“Government is a parasite, it feeds on the life blood of producers…unfortunately, because of war and crime, some government is necessary…”
I agree government is a necessary evil. What’s your point? You’re not suggesting we live in free herds do you?
“But when it takes over the productive sector, we become what China ONCE was, impoverished.”
I don’t follow. What is being taken over? I’m trying to follow your line of reasoning before I toss you out as another blabbering tool.
“No word on who is waiting in the wings for the gig.”
An administration approved crony, no doubt.
#30
nope Paddy GM COO Fritz Henderson OB just just looking out for your money with the ousting of wagoner
# 31 Beep beep’m beep beep yeah said, “nope Paddy GM COO Fritz Henderson OB just just looking out for your money with the ousting of wagoner”
Wow, the COO is senior to the CEO at GM? No wonder it is screwed up.
32
Thats a GM board choice not yours unless you are on the board. It would not surprise me if you were.
# 33 Beep beep’m beep beep yeah said, “Thats a GM board choice not yours”
Absolutely. And, we know what a good job the board has done. ROFL
33
Ya thats Y I thought U might B on the board 😉