Whitacre is making a clean sweep of GM's top management.

GM Chairman and CEO, Ed Whitacre, took another step this morning at reshaping the loss-making company with a particular emphasis on North America.

Mark Reuss is now president of GM North America. Reuss was briefly vice president of Engineering after leading GM’s Holden operations in Australia in 2008.

Reporting to Reuss will be Susan E. Docherty, who is appointed vice president, Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing operations.

Also aligned under the new North American group will be Diana D. Tremblay, who is named vice president, Manufacturing and Labor Relations.  Tremblay was most recently vice president of Labor Relations.

Denise C. Johnson is named vice president, Labor Relations. Johnson was most recently vehicle line director and chief engineer for Global Small Cars.

Bob Lutz remains vice chairman, although his direct reports have been moved to other executives. Lutz “will act as advisor on design and global product development.” GM said in a statement.

What this means is that Lutz will eventually retire, in what is now a clean sweep of GM’s top management following the firings or resignations of Rich Wagoner, the chairman Whitacre replaced at the insistence of the U.S. Treasury’s Auto Task Force as a precondition for a financial bailout.

The previous CEO, Fritz Wagoner, a GM finance staff lifer, was fired or was resigned by Whitacre earlier this week. GM’s complacent finance staff came under whithering criticism from former Task Force head Steven Rattner in as a speech this fall.

“I want to give people more responsibility and authority deeper in the organization and then hold them accountable,” Whitacre said. “We’ve realigned our leadership duties and responsibilities to help us meet our mission to design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles.”

In it’s first quarter since emerging from bankruptcy this past July, U.S. and Canadian taxpayer owned GM lost $1.2 billion and failed to complete the sales of loss-making Saab, Opel, Saturn and Hummer divisions as promised as part of the restructuring.

At this time it appears that only the sale Hummer might go through.

Opel remains a particularly nettlesome problem, which needs full-time attention by a senior executive. Nick Reilly is now president, GM Europe. Reilly has been leading the restructuring efforts in Europe with the Opel/Vauxhall operations and will leave his role leading GM International Operations.

Opel’s product development is said to be crucial to GM’s future small car plans, but itssurvival remains in doubt after the GM Board refused to sell it to Magna and Russian Sberbank. GM is attempting to undertake the restructuring of Opel by itself but needs billion of euros in support from European governments.

Tim Lee is named president of GM International Operations, overseeing GM’s Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa, and Middle East operations.  Lee was most recently group vice president, Manufacturing and Labor Relations.