In a day of churning at auto management boards, French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroën fired its chief executive Sunday and replaced him with a veteran of the steel industry. This was swiftly followed by the departure of General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner from office.

Peugeot, the No2 European carmaker behind Volkswagen, said that Philippe Varin, CEO of the Anglo-Dutch steel company Corus, would replace Christian Streiff, who is stepping down immediately.

''Given the extraordinary difficulties currently faced by the automotive industry, the supervisory board decided unanimously that a change in the senior leadership position was necessary,'' Thierry Peugeot, chairman of the board, said. ''I am confident that under the leadership of Philippe Varin, the group will be able, with all the teams, to unlock its potential.''

Streiff suffered two minor strokes last year that forced him to ease up on his workload at a critical time for Peugeot-Citroen, as it entered the biggest slump in the automobile industry since the Second World War.

Streiff has been getting bad press in recent months, with recurrent reports that the Peugeot family, which controls nearly 45 per cent of the company's voting rights, was becoming irritated by Streiff's go-it-alone management style and his strategy.

Streiff replaced Jean-Martin Folz in the spring of 2007, after a brief stint as head of the European commercial aircraft builder Airbus.

Streiff brought in other senior executives when he arrived in 2007, notably the CFO, Isabel Marey-Semper, and it's likely that there will be other senior management changes after Streiff's departure, analysts said.

Like other global automakers, Peugeot, based in Paris, is struggling to stay afloat as a punishing recession reduces demand for cars and the global credit crisis hampers the ability of consumers to finance purchases.

The company's shares have fallen nearly 70 per cent in the last 12 months, and its main suppliers are in serious difficulty. Last month the company posted a 2008 net loss of $456 million. It said it expected to have another loss for 2009.