GM Human Resources Chief Leaves Company After 8 Months on Job

Jose Tomas, who joined GM in July 2017 after stints leading HR at health-benefits company Anthem Inc. and Burger King, “has elected to leave the company for personal reasons,” a GM spokesman said. Mr Tomas couldn’t be reached for comment.

Mr Tomas reported to Chief Executive Mary Barra, serving among a small group of executives that forms her inner circle. He was hired last summer to replace the retired John Quattrone, an executive who spent his career at GM and was a confidante of Ms Barra.

GM said it would name a replacement at a later date.

The swift departure is a rarity under Ms Barra, whose tenure has been marked by continuity in the executive suite after substantial turnover following GM’s 2009 bankruptcy and a series of shake-ups at crosstown rival Ford Motor Co.

The top human-resources job at General Motors has taken on elevated importance in recent years as the automaker has worked to change its culture following the bankruptcy and a safety scandal involving a defective ignition switch that was uncovered in 2014.

On top of that, traditional automakers are scrambling to bring in fresh talent to help them navigate an industry being transformed by driverless cars and other technology that has attracted competition from tech giants, including Alphabet Inc., and startups. General Motors, for example, two years has hired about 500 people to work at its San Francisco-based Cruise Automation subsidiary, an autonomous-vehicle startup acquired in early 2016.

Ms Barra, who served as GM’s HR chief from 2009 to 2011, has touted an influx of new employees in her four years as CEO. During an investor presentation in November, Ms Barra said nearly 40% of GM’s roughly 77,000 salaried employees have been at the company for fewer than five years.

“As we’ve hired new people…we’ve reshaped the company and the skill sets that we need to provide and lead in the transformation areas,” she said.

Upon his hiring, Ms Barra lauded Mr Tomas’ experience managing “a complex global employee base.” Before Anthem, Mr Tomas ran HR and Latin American operations for Burger King.