Jill Lajdziak to Leave GM by Year End

The recently placed seal on GM's brand Saturn fate has already began causing effects in the manufacturer's management. Among the first who announced will jump ship as it sinks is Saturn's CEO, Jill Lajdziak, who will leave GM all together by the end of the year.

This doesn't mean that she will still actually work for the American manufacturer until that time. Until her departure, Lajdziak will take a ling vacation and, according to spokesman John McDonald talking for Autonews, the interim CEO will be GM's general manager of retail sales support Steve Hill. Hill will be in charge of the unpleasant work of winding down the demised Saturn.

Lajdziak joined GM in 1980 as a district sales manager for Chevrolet. She became manager of retailer selection for Saturn and climbed the corporate ladder to the CEO position by 1999. Lajdziak is a University of Wisconsin graduate and has a bachelor of arts degree in business marketing and management.

GM announced the official closure of Saturn earlier this week, with both the carmaker and its dealers to be terminated as a result of Penske Automotive's change of heart.

"As a result of PAG’s decision, we will be winding down the Saturn brand and dealership network, in accordance with the wind-down agreements that Saturn dealers recently signed with GM. Pursuant to the terms of those agreements, the wind down process will be determined and communicated shortly," GM's CEO Fritz Henderson said when announcing the decision.