HispanicBusiness

The marketing officer of General Motors Co has left the largest US carmaker after two years in the job as the company has seen its US market share fall and losses in Europe build.

Joel Ewanick, who was responsible for GM's global advertising budget, had not fulfilled expectations the firm has for employees, a company spokesman said Sunday without releasing details.

The Wall Street Journal cited an unnamed source as saying that Ewanick, 52, failed "to properly vet the financial details of a European soccer-sponsorship deal that he struck recently."

GM said in May that it had inked a five-year agreement for its Chevrolet brand to sponsor Manchester United and last week said it had struck a similar four-year deal with the Liverpool Football Club.

Under Ewanick, GM also decided to end its advertising on Facebook shortly before the website's initial public offering and announced it would end its advertising during the Super Bowl.

The broadcast is often the most-watched television programme of the year in the United States and commands the highest ad rates.

Ewanick's resignation was effective immediately, GM said. Alan Batey, vice president of US sales and service, would take up the marketing post on an interim basis, it said.

The change was announced as GM has suffered losses in Europe. Its European unit, Opel, has only turned a profit in one of the past 12 years and recorded operating losses of 747 million dollars last year. GM is to report second-quarter earnings Thursday, and analysts expected Opel to take a bite out of its profits again.

GM is also seeing trouble on its home turf. Its US market share fell from 19.9 per cent in the first half of 2011 to 18.1 per cent in the first six months of this year.