GM CEO Fritz Henderson, after only eight months on the job leading the giant automaker, has resigned, effective immediately, after being asked to leave his job by the board of directors. This was completely unexpected. If the board of directors are only going to give future job holders less than a year to make sweeping changes at the company, we’re guessing that not many people of merit will be jumping at the job.

It should be noted that previous CEO Rick Wagoner was asked to resign by the Obama administration but this firing was, according to company spokespeople, not influenced at all by the government. The decision was reportedly made by the board alone.

As is often the case in these situations, high-level executives are quoted as speaking out of both sides of their mouth. Interim CEO and current chairman of the GM board Ed Whitacre, the guy who proudly proclaimed that he knew nothing about the car business upon receiving his lofty position, is quoted in a Reuters news piece as saying that Henderson had, “done a remarkable job in leading the company through an unprecedented period of challenge and change.” Seems like the perfect time to fire him then, right?

Read the deails from Reuters here.

***Update*** Interim CEO Ed Whitacre spoke to the media and in a report from the Detroit Free Press assured the crowd that, “GM is on the right path.”