Wagoner confirmed that his decision was made purely to appease the White House, but with losses of more than $82 billion since 2004 and a 95% decline in the company's share price since 2000 – about the same time Wagoner stepped in – it may be time for GM to get a new boss.
Another managerial switch taking place today includes the appointment of Kent Kresa, chairman emeritus, Northrop Grumman Corporation, as interim non-executive chairman of the board of directors.
Wagoner met with the auto industry task force on Friday in a final attempt to lay-out GM's viability plans ahead of the March 31 deadline. The task force has been given the responsibility of deciding whether GM and Chrysler deserve the billions of dollars of federal loans paid out so far, as well as requests for additional funding. GM has already received $13.4 billion from the government and is seeking an additional $16.6 billion. Chrysler has received $4 billion in U.S. loans and is seeking $5 billion more, while Ford says it won't need help unless industry sales weaken further.
Things are looking somewhat bright for the carmakers. Obama has expressed in the past a desire to help them, though earlier today he said GM and Chrysler had not done enough yet to become "lean, mean and competitive" under federal oversight - comments that suggest the chances of the company’s receiving more aid are slim.
