GM CEO Henderson Resigns

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson has resigned after only 8 months in his post. He will be replaced on an interim basis by board chairman Ed Whitacre Jr. Henderson took over in March and led the company through bankruptcy proceedings and helped it toward its goal of scaling down to the core brands of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. However, deals to sell Saturn and Saab have fallen through of late, notes the Wall Street Journal.

The news comes on the same day that the auto industry showed signs of stabilizing, notes the New York Times. GM, Ford, Toyota, and Honda all said sales were about the same in November as the previous year. Only Chrysler reported a significant drop of 25%. “The market is slowly steadying itself and gaining strength,” said a GM analyst. "We're encouraged."
(More auto industry stories.)