May 30 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. appointed Troy Clarke, head of the automaker's profitable Asia-Pacific operations, to run its money-losing North American unit.

Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner will give up day-to-day control of North America at GM, the world's largest automaker. Nick Reilly, president of GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., will replace Clarke, 51. GM vice chairman John Devine, 62, will retire June 1, the company said in a statement today.

The shift, effective July 1, puts a deputy in charge of North America for the first time in 13 months. In April 2005, Wagoner named himself president of North America to restore profits in the region. North America accounted for $8.2 billion of GM's $10.6 billion in losses last year as Wagoner, 53, crafted plans to cut 30,000 U.S. factory jobs and close nine plants.

``GM is too big a company not to have a head of North America,'' said John Casesa, an auto-industry analyst at New York-based Casesa Shapiro Group LLC. ``Having Troy Clarke in this job now is like having a chief operating officer that this company desperately needs.''

Asia-Pacific was GM's most profitable region in the first quarter as income rose more than fivefold to $453 million, including $372 million from GM's sale of most of its stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. GM's North American loss narrowed to $503 million from $1.7 billion as sales of large sport-utility vehicles helped generate record revenue.

Lache Downgrade

GM shares fell 5.4 percent today, the most in five months, after Deutsche Bank analyst Rod Lache downgraded them to ``sell'' from ``hold,'' citing higher interest rates and lower sales of pickup trucks. ``Leading indicators are increasingly pointing to a tough outlook,'' Lache wrote in a note to clients.

GM also faces a possible strike at its biggest supplier, Delphi Corp., which filed for bankruptcy last year and is moving to cut wages by as much 54 percent. The supplier's workers have authorized union leaders to strike if necessary.

The automaker is also trying to convince as many of its 113,000 union workers as possible, and another 15,000 at Delphi, to accept retirement and buyout incentives as part of Wagoner's plan to trim the workforce.

About 20,200 GM workers and 8,862 Delphi workers have signed up for the retirement and buyouts, Rob Betts, president of UAW Local 2151 at a Delphi fuel injector plant in Coopersville, Michigan, said today, citing comments made May 25 by Richard Rupert, an aide to UAW Vice President Dick Shoemaker.

``These numbers are changing all the time, because people are walking in the door every day to sign up,'' Betts said.

GM spokeswoman Katie McBride said the company won't comment on the number of employees accepting buyouts.

Best in Dow

GM shares declined $1.51 to $26.49 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest one-day fall since Dec. 20. They have gained 37 percent this year on optimism about the buyouts and improving financial results, making the automaker the best performer on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Clarke has been GM's Asia-Pacific president since June 2004, when he took over the job from Fritz Henderson, who is now the carmaker's chief financial officer. Henderson replaced Devine as the finance chief Jan. 1, and the automaker said at the time that Devine would stay with the company as long as an additional year.

Clarke, who joined GM in 1973, previously ran the automaker's Mexican operations and was responsible for GM's manufacturing and labor relations before his Asia posting. He oversaw the carmaker's 2003 negotiations with the United Automobile Workers.

Union Labor

``We have had a constructive relationship with Troy Clarke during his years of service at GM, including his tenure as GM's Vice President for Labor Relations,'' the UAW's Shoemaker said in a statement. ``He is a capable executive who understands the issues now facing the auto industry.''

The 2003 contract expires next year and a key part of Clarke's job will be negotiating the new agreement, Casesa said.

``Clarke has good experience in labor relations, since he negotiated the last contract,'' Casesa said. ``The first order of business in North America now is negotiating a radically different contract with the UAW in 2007.''

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. are gaining U.S. sales at the expense of GM, whose share of its home market fell to 26.2 percent last year, the lowest since 1925. The Detroit- based carmaker is selling assets, including 51 percent of GM's finance unit, to raise money to help fund new models.

When Wagoner took direct responsibility for North American operations last year, the former head of the region, Gary Cowger, was reassigned to focus on worldwide manufacturing and labor.

``While much work remains to be done, we have reached several significant milestones in our turnaround plan over the past year,'' Wagoner said in today's statement. Clarke ``has the experience and skills to help lead the GMNA team.''

China, South Korea

In China and South Korea, GM is prospering. It is the biggest overseas maker of passenger cars, vans and trucks in China, with 13.5 percent of the world's third-largest vehicle market in the first quarter.

Profit by the carmaker, which has four manufacturing ventures in China, more than doubled to a record $70 million in the period. Shanghai General Motors Co., GM's largest Chinese venture, sold more cars than any other automaker in the country in the first quarter.

GM Daewoo, based in Bupyung, South Korea, is GM's most efficient automobile engineering center, requiring 20 percent fewer man hours to design a car than U.S. counterparts. The carmaker's first-quarter vehicle sales rose almost 60 percent, boosted by exports of Daewoo models which are sold in the U.S. and China as Buicks and Chevrolets.

``Reilly's experience in South Korea can help him better understand the Chinese market,'' said Richard Wei, an analyst with UOB Kay Hian Investment Consulting Shanghai Ltd.

GM owns 50.9 percent of GM Daewoo.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeff Green in Southfield, Michigan, at jgreen16@bloomberg.net; Eugene Tang in Tokyo at eugenetang@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 30, 2006 16:28 EDT