GM’s Management Changes to Shake Up Design Process

General Motors Corp. announced management and organizational changes Thursday that will shake up the way it designs new vehicles. The moves will result in an undetermined number of job losses.

For the world’s biggest auto maker, the moves are seen as a significant step in deflating its legendary bloated structure that experts saw as an impediment to keeping pace with changing trends.

“They’re clearly going in the right direction. First and foremost they’re getting rid of the bureaucracy, which will speed up the process so they can get products to market more quickly,” said Chris Cedergren of the automotive market research firm Nextrend.

“The best thing is they’re putting more control in the hands of people that should be more responsible for products, designers and planners,” Cedergren said.

Mark Hogan, president of e-GM, will immediately assume the position of group vice president of advanced vehicle development. Wayne Cherry, vice president of GM Design, will now lead the realigned design organization.

The impetus for the changes came with the September arrival of Robert Lutz to oversee product development. He was later appointed chairman of GM’s North America division. Hogan, 50, and Cherry, 64, will report directly to Lutz.

“We must move with a laser-like focus at getting great-looking, low-cost, investment-efficient products into our system quickly,” Lutz said. “Mark Hogan’s role in blending great designs with the other imperatives should shorten our total development times and, most importantly, ensure that we have the right products.”

The company also said it is reducing its 13 vehicle line teams into 11 by consolidating two of them. The result will be a loss of some jobs, but that number has yet to be determined, spokesman Tom Kowaleski said.

GM shares rose 78 cents to close at $51.14 on the New York Stock Exchange.