President Obama fired his first CEO last night — forcing Rick Wagoner to step down as head of General Motors.
Wagoner, who had been at the helm of the automaker for eight years, hit the road after the administration threatened to withhold bailout money from the company if he didn’t.
Just over a week ago, Wagoner — who has been lampooned on “Saturday Night Live” for his role in the industry’s collapse — had vowed not to resign.
“I plan to stay here until we get things well in shape and on track,” he said on Mar. 19.
The GM chief’s departure came hours before it was learned the administration’s auto task force has rejected the turnaround plans of GM and Chrysler.
Instead of granting GM’s request for up to $30 billion in loans, it will get only enough money to fund operations for 60 days.
Chrysler, was given 30 days to complete an alliance with Italy’s Fiat.
Some investors saw Wagoner’s exit as part of Obama’s plan to emphasize to automakers that they haven’t done enough to clean up their troubles to warrant federal aid beyond the $17.4 billion already given to GM and Chrysler.
In an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” yesterday, the president said Detroit’s Big Three must take more hard steps.
“We think we can have a successful US auto industry. But it’s got to be one that’s realistically designed to weather this storm and to emerge — at the other end — much more lean, mean and competitive than it currently is,” he said.
Wagoner began his long career at GM as a bean counter after graduating from Duke University, where he played freshman basketball, and Harvard Business School in 1977.
He impressed GM’s crusty brass for his in-fighting skill while serving in various posts around the globe.
But under Wagoner’s watch, GM was knocked off its perch as the No. 1 automaker by Toyota, which made better cars more cheaply under a superior business plan.
Wagoner was criticized for keeping GM focused on trucks and gas-guzzling SUVs instead of fuel-stingy hybrids.
Since last year, the company has been surviving on $13.4 billion in government loans, and it intends to seek another $16 billion. With Post Wire Services