Wagoner-Kerkorian battle brewing at GM

DETROIT, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The chief executive of General Motors Corp. has won a round against billionaire California investor Kirk Kerkorian.

Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp., which owns 9.9 percent of GM stock, told U.S. regulators Friday that it no longer wants to increase its holdings in the automaker and that Jerome York, its representative on the board, is resigning, The Wall Street Journal reported.

York's departure comes after Wednesday's board decision to reject Kerkorian's appeal for the appointment of an independent panel to evaluate an alliance with Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co.

That appeal followed unproductive talks between GM and Renault officials.

The board's decision to reject Kerkorian's appeal indicates significant support for Wagoner and his go-it-alone turnaround plan, which envisions trimming $9 billion in costs by year-end and cutting more than 30,000 U.S. union jobs.

The departure of York, who became a GM director in February, also indicates that Kerkorian, GM's fourth-largest stockholder, may now see simply work to replace Wagoner.