News From the Auto Industry

The new policy gives GM leverage in the event a supplier’s performance wanes. “We still have opportunities when we award a product in year one and start production in year four. Sometimes, they (suppliers) become uncompetitive (during that time).”

“The choice of Ed is interesting for obvious reasons,” says Brett Smith, a senior industry analyst at the Center for Automotive Research in Detroit. “He certainly has done a fantastic job of working through the corporate system, which at GM can sometimes be a difficult thing to do.”

“We didn’t do a good job communicating what the change was and what the impact was,” Andersson tells Ward’s. “So I had a conference call with all the top 200 suppliers to explain what it was.”