GM’s Wagoner Forced to Resign

The Obama administration forced General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner to resign after a task force decided he was unable to craft a plan to save the automaker, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Wagoner, 56, ran GM for more than eight years and agreed to the administration’s request that he step down, Bloomberg said.

“I’m absolutely confident GM will rise again, provided it undergoes a fundamental restructuring,” President Obama said at a press conference Monday.

“The United States government has no interest in running GM,” he said.

Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson will become GM’s CEO, while director Kent Kresa will succeed Wagoner as chairman. GM had been seeking as much as $16.6 billion in new U.S. loans after an initial installment of $13.4 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Wagoner’s exit caps an unsuccessful five-month push to win U.S. aid without losing his job. Forced to work for $1 a year and cede most of his corporate perks, Wagoner had said he would not resign unless compelled, Bloomberg reported.