No General Motors Europe union tears will be shed for departing GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner.

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The senior labour leader at Opel, Klaus Franz, welcomed Fritz Henderson as the new CEO and told Reuters: “The move was overdue.”


The chief worker representative and Opel supervisory board member added that Henderson – who, as GM Europe chief some years ago – oversaw a sweeping Opel restructuring that resulted in thousands of job cuts – made a clear push for a separation of the German brand.


Franz said Henderson supports independence for Opel, which is searching for a new investor that could potentially take a majority stake, while Wagoner “personified the failed policy of a centralised system”.


GM Europe has yet to comment on the top management change in the US which will soon also see much of the board replaced.

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