FRITZ HENDERSON STEPS DOWN

Fritz Henderson is to step down as chief executive of US car giant General Motors, the firm said late on Tuesday.

GM chairman Ed Whitacre will act as an interim replacement. It is thought that an outsider will be brought in to replace Mr Henderson.

Mr Henderson had only been GM's chief executive since March.

Mr Whitacre said Mr Henderson had done a "remarkable job in leading the company through an unprecedented period of challenge and change".

The decision was made by the Board of Directors alone. The administration was not involved in the decision

Mr Whitacre added: "All involved agree that changes needed to be made."

He assured GM's employees, dealers, suppliers, union partners and customers that it would be business as usual, with an emphasis on "a return to profitability and repaying the American and Canadian tax payers as soon as possible".

GM entered bankruptcy protection earlier this year, after having been hit by slumping sales. It emerged from bankruptcy in July, with the US government owning a 62% stake in the revamped firm.

In addition, GM received some $60bn in financing from government loans.

Mr Whitacre was brought in as chairman by the Obama administration earlier this year, having previously run telecoms firm AT&T.

Analysts say Mr Henderson, as the right hand man of the previous chief executive, Rick Wagoner, was seen as too much part of the GM old-guard.

Ken Elias from the car consultancy Maryann Keller said: "The reality is GM truly needs an outsider as a leader that has no attachment."

The White House denied any involvement in the resignation.

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

In March, Fritz Henderson replaced the then chief executive, Rick Wagoner, who was ordered to step down by US President Barack Obama.

Mr Wagoner had headed the company since 2000, after first joining the company in 1977.

In an agreement reached in October with the US government's "compensation czar" Kenneth Feinberg, Mr Henderson's pay was cut by 25% to $950,000, about half of what he made in 2008.

The news of Mr Henderson's departure came minutes after the end of a GM board meeting to discuss the fate of its Swedish car brand Saab.

GM said that due to the emergence of new potential buyers it would evaluate bids for carmaker Saab by the end of December.

But the firm added that if it did not find a "suitable arrangement" it would then "wind down" Saab.

A deal to buy Saab - which employs 4,500 people - failed last week after Sweden's Koenigsegg Automotive dropped out of a possible takeover. This was the third failed attempt to sell Saab this year.

In November, the company announced that it was calling off plans to sell its other European business, Opel, along with its UK brand, Vauxhall.

GM had agreed to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Canadian car parts firm Magna, but changed its mind.

On Tuesday 1st December, GM released information showing that US sales figures for its cars and other passenger vehicles fell 2.2% from November 2008 to 151,427.