GM Reorganization in Europe

GM Announces Management Moves, Reorganization in Europe 
                                        
              Streamlined Operations to Lead to More Efficiency,  
                         Further Growth for GM Brands 
 
    ZURICH, Switzerland, June 18 -- General Motors will reorganize its European 
operations to simplify the company's structure, speed decision-making and 
support functional excellence within GM.  The restructured organization will 
operate more efficiently, enable its brands to expand their market position, and 
become more customer-focused. 
    To help drive the organization to operate more effectively, the following 
senior executive changes were announced, effective immediately:  Fritz 
Henderson is named chairman of GM Europe; Carl-Peter Forster is named 
president of GME, reporting to Henderson; and Hans Demant, in addition to 
retaining his responsibilities as vice president of engineering for GME, 
succeeds Forster as managing director of Adam Opel AG.  Forster also was named 
chairman of the Opel Supervisory Board, replacing Hans Barth, who remains on 
the board. 
    'These executive moves are an important element of our reorganization in 
Europe,' GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said.  'Fritz will continue to be 
responsible for all operations within the region.  Carl-Peter's well-proven 
product capabilities will be a key asset in a fully aligned and integrated 
organization.  As we move to an even more product-focused organization, Hans 
Demant, as the head of product development in Europe, is the natural choice as 
managing director for Opel. 
    'At General Motors, truly performing as 'one company' is key to our future 
success.  We have a distinct advantage because of our size, if we use it 
properly.  Today, we are formalizing a single operating culture in Europe that 
will pull all the units of GM Europe in the same direction, leveraging the 
vast resources of the global GM family.' 
    Henderson met with employees across Europe in a satellite broadcast to 
explain the organizational moves and the company's future direction. 
    'Today we're asking all of our European employees to recalibrate 
themselves to a mindset of working for General Motors overall, instead of an 
individual brand or country operation,' Henderson said.  'While maintaining 
brand character and integrity is vital, working together as one team is 
equally critical to future success.  These are not mutually exclusive goals.' 
    Forster added:  'In today's competitive automotive climate here in Europe 
-- and around the world, for that matter -- we must avoid duplicative or 
'isolated' operations that don't capitalize on opportunities that exist by 
working within the overall GM system.  We will grow the Opel, Vauxhall and 
Saab brands going forward.  But we will do so using all of the resources here 
in Europe and throughout GM.' 
    Under the new operating philosophy, the functional departments -- finance, 
engineering, purchasing, manufacturing, sales/marketing and aftersales, 
product planning, quality, human resources, legal and communications -- become 
pan-European organizations, with each leader charged with significantly 
improving the effectiveness of the function throughout Europe. 
    Tim Lee, GME vice president, manufacturing; Jamal El-Hout, vice president, 
planning; Roger Johansson, vice president, purchasing; Peter Dersley, vice 
president, quality; and Demant will report to Forster, as will Peter 
Augustsson at Saab Automobile AB in Sweden and Kevin Wale at Vauxhall Motors 
Ltd. in the United Kingdom.  Augustsson and Wale are charged with aligning 
their organizations to the GME functions. 
    'I'm looking forward to working in my expanded role within the new 
operating structure that we announced today,' Demant said.  'It will allow us 
and me personally to nurture the Opel brand and products to the benefit of our 
customers.' 
    'Employees and their representatives have high expectations in the new 
leadership team, and proceed on the assumption that this team will continue on 
the path to success,' added Klaus Franz, co-chairman of the European Employee 
Forum. 
    The importance of design will be further emphasized by creating a single, 
pan-European design organization that functionally aligns today's Opel and 
Saab design activities, as well as advanced vehicle design.  Bryan Nesbitt 
will lead that organization, reporting directly to the GME president.  
Previously, design reported into engineering. 
    'Today's announcements are not about cutting our way to prosperity, or 
diminishing the importance of individual brands, but rather about being able 
to introduce products that are consistent with the individual brand character, 
without having to start from a clean sheet of paper for each and every 
component, each and every time,' said Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman of product 
development, and former interim president of GM Europe. 
    'We need to be better represented in the newer product niches, such as 
crossover vehicles and SUVs,' Lutz said.  'To do that, we need to become more 
effective at spending our capital on product programs.  Furthermore, this 
organizational alignment helps us build a global environment that allows the 
rest of the world to capitalize on the skills and expertise here in Europe, 
whether that expertise lies in Germany, Sweden, the U.K. or any other 
country.' 
    Lutz cited one of the first examples of GM's global vision: Engineers in 
Russelsheim, Germany, will have the lead for developing the next generation 
Epsilon architecture.  They will be responsible for the basic engineering of 
the architecture and shared components.  Each affected region and brand 
provides vehicle parameters to ensure the architecture has the capability to 
be differentiated for individual brand and regional needs.  Jon Lauckner, 
formerly the vehicle line executive for the new Opel/Vauxhall Astra, is named 
global vehicle line executive in charge of the Epsilon II, as it is being 
called internally. 
    In addition to Forster, Human Resources, Finance, Sales/Marketing and 
Aftersales, Information Systems, Legal, Communications, the Fiat/GM Powertrain 
and other Fiat-related activities will report to Henderson.  Also, to provide 
for continued focus on the high-growth potential, New Business Development for 
Central and Eastern Europe will be directed by Henderson. 
     
    General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, 
employs about 325,000 people globally.  Founded in 1908, GM has been the 
global automotive sales leader since 1931.  GM today has manufacturing 
operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in 192 countries.  In 
2003, GM sold nearly 8.6 million cars and trucks, about 15 percent of the 
global vehicle market.  GM's global headquarters are at the GM Renaissance 
Center in Detroit.  More information on GM and its products can be found on 
the company's corporate website at http://www.gm.com.  
 
SOURCE  General Motors Corporation 
    -0-                             06/18/2004 P 
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