General Motors Co., amid weak auto sales, is making progress in restructuring its operations three months after emerging from bankruptcy, its top executive said, although turnover continues to afflict the company's upper management.
The company's top U.S. sales executive, Mark LaNeve, is the latest to go. The company said Wednesday that he would leave Oct. 15. Within hours, GM named Susan Docherty, general manager of the automaker's Buick-GMC division, to replace LaNeve.
Chief Executive Fritz Henderson, installed after predecessor Rick Wagoner was ousted by the Obama administration in March, said the company had made progress in cleaning up its balance sheet, winning customer acceptance of new vehicle models and reducing costs by closing factories and cutting workers since it exited bankruptcy in July.
"Over the past 90 days since we created the new GM, we've already launched a number of new fuel-efficient, highly successful cars and crossovers; introduced a new marketing campaign that highlights our best-in-class fuel economy, quality, warranty and safety performance; sworn in a new board of directors; and overhauled our management," Henderson said Wednesday.
He said consumer reaction to GM's newest vehicles had been "very positive." In the U.S., newly launched vehicles, including the Chevrolet Equinox, Cadillac SRX, Buick LaCrosse, GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Camaro, all exceeded sales expectations in September, he said.
Even so, GM's September sales were down almost 45% compared with a year earlier -- one of the worst showings among the major automakers.
GM executives blamed part of the decline on a hangover from the government's "cash for clunkers" program, which prompted many consumers to buy vehicles in August that they might otherwise have purchased in September.
However, they also acknowledged that the company was facing economic head winds, especially slack consumer confidence caused in part by the rising unemployment rate.
To help spur demand, GM a month ago launched a new advertising campaign titled "May the Best Car Win."
GM's recent marketing initiatives, including its new advertising campaign, have been shepherded by GM executive Bob Lutz, who took over marketing responsibilities from LaNeve in July.
LaNeve, 50, whose responsibilities included working with GM's shrinking dealer network, is leaving to take a job at another company, Henderson said.
