General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson is stepping down.

During a news conference late Tuesday afternoon a GM spokesperson said Henderson was in agreement with the board of directors that the time was right for his resignation.

Chairman of the Board Ed Whitacre Jr will serve as interim CEO while the company searches for a replacement.

Whitacre is the current chairman at General Motors and joined the GM board in July of this year. He is a former chairman of the board of AT&T and was chief executive officer at SBC Communications for 15 years.

While the media was gathered hastily for Tuesday afternoon's announcement, President Obama received a call telling him of Henderson's resignation. The White House was informed because of the huge stake the government has in GM following the big bailout.

Meanwhile, MSNBC is reporting Henderson was forced out because the company wasn't moving fast enough to re-organize and become profitable.

Henderson was a career G-M employee who took over as CEO after Rick Wagoner was forced out in March by the Obama Administration as part of GM's government-supervised restructuring.

The new Interim CEO and Chairman, Edward Whitacre Junior, has been with General Motors for five months.

He joined General Motors' board as chairman last July.

He served as chairman of the board of AT&T and was chief executive officer at SBC Communications for 15 years.