General Motors Co. announced a management shakeup Friday, as well as major changes to its strategic partnerships in Canada and China.

Chairman Ed Whitacre put Mark Reuss in charge of GM's North American operations. He was formerly engineering chief.

The Ingersoll CAMI plant stopped making Suzuki-brand vehicles after halting production of the XL7 in June due to falling demand. (Dave Chidley/Canadian Press)

In a broadcast to staff worldwide, Whitacre said he will also recombine sales and marketing and bring those under the direction of Susan Docherty.

She became the head of sales when former CEO Fritz Henderson separated those functions. Whitacre said Bob Lutz, who had been in charge of marketing, will remain a vice-chairman and be an adviser on global product development.

He also will help Whitacre learn about the business.

The changes come three days after GM announced the sudden resignation of CEO Fritz Henderson.

In his address, Whitacres told employees he wants them to take risks, make decisions and be entrepreneurial. If they take reasonable risks, they need not fear being fired for them, he said.

"We want you to step up. We don't want any bureaucracy," Whitacre said. "We're not going to make it if you won't take a risk and step up and be held accountable for it."

Suzuki sells out interest in Ingersoll plant

In the meantime, GM and Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. announced they have agreed to end their three-decade-long joint venture in CAMI Automotive, based in Ingersoll, Ont. Under the deal, Suzuki will sell its 50 per cent stake, giving GM full control.

The price was not disclosed.

CAMI has produced more than 2.3 million vehicles, including small cars such as the Chevy Metro, Suzuki Swift and Pontiac Firefly. It began making midsize sport-utility vehicles five years ago. GM plans to expand capacity at CAMI by 20 per cent to produce the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, two crossover models that saw sales gains of 17 per cent in November.

GM to target Indian market

In a separate announcement, the Detroit automaker and its main Chinese partner announced a venture to sell vehicles in India, uniting their efforts in the world's two fastest growing car markets. That deal will have GM give majority ownership of its main China joint venture to Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp., which will invest up to $350 million in the India initiative. GM said it also would collaborate in future efforts to expand sales in other emerging markets in Southeast Asia.

With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press