Being an auto executive these days is suddenly a tough place to be. It all seemed so dreamy a few years ago when you could easily sack workers or move production to cheap labor locations and watch your salary and stock go up. Peugot's new hire looks like a classic chop-costs-and-sell kind of CEO though selling or merging won't be easy in this climate.
France's biggest carmaker, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, ousted CEO Christian Streiff on Sunday, saying "exceptional difficulties" confronting the auto industry require new management at the top.
Philippe Varin is being brought in from outside the company June 1 to replace Streiff, the company said in a statement. Roland Vardanega, a member of the three-man board of directors at the car company, will preside over the company until then.
