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General Motors Co. announced several senior executive changes on Wednesday, which are effective April 1. Matt Tsien, currently EVP and president of GM China, has been named executive vice president and chief technology officer. He succeeds Jon Lauckner, a 40-year GM veteran and chief technology officer since 2012, who is retiring on July 1.

Tsien has led the Detroit automakerā€™s operations in China since the beginning of 2014. Under his leadership, GM achieved unprecedented growth in the region and incorporated technologies, especially in electrification and connectivity, to enable long-term growth in China, according to the company. In his new role, Tsien will report to GM President Mark Reuss.

Craig Buchholz, chief communications officer at Procter & Gamble, will join GM as senior vice president of global communications. He succeeds Tony Cervone, who is retiring on July 1. Buchholz joined P&G in 2014 as vice president of global communications. In 2018, he was promoted to chief communications officer, a role that hadnā€™t existed since Christopher Hassallā€™s departure in 2012, as part of a reorganization at P&G that combined the brand and corporate communications duties. During his tenure, Buchholz led P&G communications through a variety of challenging product and corporate issues, according to the company. He will report to GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra.

Prior to P&G, Buchhol spent 20 years in the pharmaceutical world working in both agency and corporate environments, including with Merck, Johnson & Johnson and what is now Pfizer.

GM said that Julian Blissett, currently senior vice president of international operations, will succeed Tsien as executive vice president and president of GM China.

ā€œIā€™d like to thank Jon and Tony for their decades-long service to GM, and for the outstanding contributions theyā€™ve made to the company,ā€ Barra said in a company . ā€œTheyā€™ve both played significant roles in positioning the company for long-term success, and I wish them all the best in retirement.ā€

GM, together with other automakers, are taking measures to protect workers as the coronavirus continues to spread globally. A number of major automakers have already halted production in Europe. The big three automakers, GM, Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler, have agreed on Wednesday to temporarily shut down their U.S. factories.