GM chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre held a Webchat December 8 to answer questions from the press, following his taking the position of interim CEO. Whitacre revealed that GM has no plans to hire a North American advertising VP, but did confirm that the search for a new CFO has been narrowed down to one candidate. Whitacre said he hopes to have news on that front by the end of the year.
Whitacre was also questioned by one reporter as to why he has yet to address the media directly concerning recent management shifts at the automaker, with Whitacre promising "We'll talk soon." While some of the interim CEO's answers were similarly vague, Whitacre got straight to the point with others. He responded decisively that GM has no current plans for layoffs at the executive or blue collar level.