DETROIT – General Motors Co. has been in talks with former product chief Robert Lutz about bringing him back as a paid consultant, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.
The details were unclear, but the 79-year-old Lutz continues to have a close relationship with GM, and the two have been in discussions about formalizing an advisory role, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
Lutz retired from GM last May after a storied, 47-year career in the auto industry, but he remains in contact with many of GM’s senior executives and speaks frequently with CEO Daniel Akerson.
Lutz, reached by phone Tuesday, said a formal offer hasn’t been made.
“I have the utmost respect for the GM management,” he said. “If they want me to come in as a consultant, I’d be very happy to consider it.”
GM Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky, speaking to investors in New York City Tuesday, said they call on Lutz “every now and then,” but downplayed the company’s need for more “car guys.”
GM officials declined to comment further on what they described as speculation about Lutz’s return.
It wouldn’t be the first time GM has brought back a senior executive as a consultant. Former GM CEO Fritz Henderson worked as a consultant to the company after leaving in 2009. He has since left GM.
Lutz, who recently finished a memoir of his career, is a legendary figure in the industry and largely credited for engineering a design renaissance at GM.
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