Another GM Management Shuffle Coming?

Another GM Management Shuffle Coming?

By Bill Visnic March 1, 2010

General Motors Corp., prodded by impatient chairman and newly named CEO Ed Whitacre to start hiking sales and market share, reportedly is planning a new management restructuring that will place more power with GM North America president Mark Reuss.

Automotive News reports Reuss will take over responsibility for sales from vice president of sales and marketing Susan Docherty, who will continue to head GM's marketing functions.

Each of GM's four remaining sales divisions -- Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC -- will have newly appointed chiefs for both sales and marketing, with divisional sales bosses reporting to Reuss and divisional marketing heads reporting to Docherty.

Currently, division heads are in charge of both functions.

Automotive News cited unnamed sources in the report, with one quoted as saying "this takes a layer out of the system," but it is difficult to see which layer of management has been removed. With each division taking on a new chief for either sales or marketing, managers in fact are being added.

If the new structure is implemented, it leads to speculation there will be further management moves at the top of GM. The New York Times reported last week that Vice Chairman Bob Lutz may be hinting at a pending departure from GM, telling West Coast automotive media GM is "beginning to approach the point where I can say, 'My work here is done.'"

And on February 22, GM named Stephen Girsky vice chairman for corporate strategy and business development. After GM's bankruptcy last summer, Girsky was appointed by the federal government to represent the United Auto Workers union on GM's board and more recently had been acting as special adviser to Whitacre. -- Bill Visnic, senior editor

Photos by GM

1. Mark Reuss gets more responsibility.

2. Steve Girsky's star may be rising at GM. 

Bill Visnic:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter