(BUSINESS WEEK)

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. said it will pay former Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson $59,090 a month as an adviser as the man who replaced him, Chairman Ed Whitacre, urged employees to move more quickly to change the company.

Hours before Henderson’s appointment yesterday, Whitacre held the second internal meeting of the week at which he signaled more changes may be coming because GM’s transformation since exiting bankruptcy has been too slow, two people with knowledge of the comments said.

Henderson’s consulting assignment will run through year’s end and entail about 20 hours of work each month, GM said in a filing. Henderson, 51, didn’t receive severance when he was dismissed as CEO on Dec. 1 after eight months. A GM spokesman, Chris Preuss, said the contract didn’t amount to severance pay.

“This is an agreement to provide consulting to the company on international operations, an area where Fritz has unrivaled expertise,” Preuss said. “That is the basis of this agreement.”

GM said Whitacre’s annual compensation will be $9 million, with a $1.7 million cash salary, $5.3 million in stock that begins paying in 2012 and $2 million in restricted stock.

Whitacre, the former AT&T Inc. CEO and chairman, came to GM in July to lead a revamped board as the biggest U.S. automaker left a government-backed Chapter 11 restructuring. Whitacre, 68, took the CEO post the same day the board ousted Henderson, and GM said Jan. 25 he would stay as the permanent chief.

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My take has always been: Break it up. Sell the stock. It's worthless and never will be a winner. The company is permeated with the culture of obsolescence, both in its vehicles and in its leadership. Taxpayers are propping up guys who get nearly 60,000 a month as consulting fees?

Now that WE the People own a majority interest in GM, how about selling Cadillac to Ford, Buick to the Chinese, and spin off Chevy and GMC as separate stocks?

Then make those farkers pay back every red cent we handed them to avert bankruptcy.