Former Exec From GM's Troubled AV Unit Takes The Wheel As Hertz's New CEO To Drive Cost-Cutting Mission
Car rental service Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:HTZ) on Friday appointed Gil West as its new CEO. West was formerly chief operating officer at General Motors‘ troubled autonomous driving unit Cruise.
What Happened: West will take on his new role at Hertz starting April 1 and replace Stephen Scherr, the company said in a statement.
“Gil’s experience as a successful leader in operationally intensive businesses will further strengthen the Company’s world-class team of over 27,000 global employees who work tirelessly to deliver outstanding service to customers daily,” Vice Chair of Hertz Board of Directors Tom Wagner said in a statement.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, Hertz reported an adjusted EPS loss of $1.36, worse than a feared $0.76, partly due to increased costs related to its EV fleet. Renevue, however, grew 7% year on year to $2.18 billion.
In January, Hertz announced its decision to sell around 20,000 electric vehicles, including Teslas, from its fleet, citing high repair costs as the driving factor. The company intends to replace these electric vehicles with combustion engine-powered cars in a bid to cut costs through 2024.
Why It Matters: For West, however, the jump is from a more troubled to a less troubled venture. Cruise suspended both autonomous and manual AV operations in the United States following a pedestrian accident involving one of its autonomous vehicles in San Francisco in early October.
GM reported an operating loss of $3.48 billion at Cruise in 2023, compared to a loss of $3.24 billion in 2022. Despite these challenges, GM CEO Mary Barra emphasized the company’s commitment to Cruise during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call in January and said that it would be relaunched. However, the parent company did not provide a roadmap for relaunch.
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