Wagoner still has GM’s support

General Motors Corp said its board continues to support Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner despite the company's deteriorating performance in the second quarter, when it lost a staggering $15.5 billion. The board's 13 directors gathered in Detroit on Monday and Tuesday for previously scheduled meetings that took place at a challenging time for the automaker.

GM is struggling with record oil prices, tight credit, sagging consumer confidence and a dramatic shift in demand from the automaker's profitable pickups and SUVs to more fuel-efficient cars and crossovers. Wagoner, CEO since 2000, has been hampered in his turnaround efforts by the weakest U.S. auto market in more than a decade.

"The board has expressed support for Rick Wagoner and the GM management team on several occasions and that has not changed," GM spokesman Steve Harris said Tuesday.

Some analysts say it's hard to fault Wagoner for most of the problems GM is facing, such as $4-a-gallon gas and the market collapse for its most profitable vehicles.

"I can understand the pressure, but from where I sit, it's hard to see anybody else coping any better than what they have done," said auto analyst David Healy of Burnham Securities.