NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) --
General Motors Chief Executive Rick Wagoner will resign as part of the federal government's plan to bail out the struggling automaker, White House and GM sources told CNN Sunday.
Wagoner's departure comes the day before President Obama is expected to announce the latest details of the government's auto task force restructuring plan for GM and Chrysler LLC.
Fritz Henderson, the current chief operating officer, is expected to be named interim CEO, according to two GM sources.
A GM spokesman declined to comment. A company statement said: "We are anticipating an announcement soon from the administration regarding the restructuring of the U.S. auto industry."
GM and Chrysler face a Tuesday deadline to prove to the Treasury Department that they can be viable in the long term. Without such a finding, the government can recall the $13.4 billion it has already lent to GM (
GM,
Fortune 500) and the $4 billion it loaned to Chrysler.
Wagoner, a 32-year company veteran, has been CEO of General Motors since 2000. A senior GM official official told CNN that the White House and the task force had "sent very clear signals" that the key to more help was "new leadership" and something that would help the administration see real change.
Wagoner joined the company in 1977 as an analyst in the GM treasurer's office. Prior to becoming CEO, Wagoner was chief operating officer and led the company's North American operations. He also served as chief financial officer from 1992 to 1994.
General Motors has been hit hard as auto sales have plummeted. Sales have continued to tumble through the early months of this year, falling 40% across the industry and about 50% at GM and Chrysler. That caused the companies and industry analysts to slash their sales estimates for the year, which heightened the need for more loans to keep GM and Chrysler afloat.
Last month, the two companies filed reports on their restructuring efforts. GM said it needed up to $16.6 billion more in loans. Chrysler asked for an additional $5 billion, and said it would need the money by the end of March to avoid running out of cash.
The Obama administration had been widely expected to approve the requests. Obama has repeatedly spoken about the importance of saving the struggling auto industry, and on March 19, Treasury announced $5 billion in federal help for GM's and Chrysler's auto parts suppliers.