**Fritz Henderson is stepping down as chief executive at US car giant General Motors, the company has announced.**GM’s chairman of the board, Ed Whitacre Jr, will serve as an interim replacement.
The news came minutes after the end of a GM board meeting to discuss the fate of its Swedish car brand Saab.
GM said due to the emergence of new potential buyers that it would evaluate bids for carmaker Saab by the end of December.
GM said that if it did not find a “suitable arrangement” it would then “wind down” Saab.
GM did not name the potential bidders. A deal to buy the carmaker failed last week.
A group led by Sweden’s Koenigsegg Automotive dropped out of a possible takeover and this marked the third failed Saab sale this year.
About 4,500 jobs at Saab are at stake.
Opel and Vauxhall
In November GM announced that it was calling off plans to sell its other European business, Opel, along with its UK brand, Vauxhall.
GM had agreed to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Canadian car parts firm Magna, but changed its mind.
It had put both Opel and Saab up for sale at the start of the year before it went into bankruptcy protection in the US on 1 June, which it then exited in just over one month after support from the US government.
GM’s finances have greatly improved since then, leading to its decision to keep Opel and Vauxhall.