Is Detroit losing its top talent?

Along with the steady stream of bad news coming from Motown has also come a tide of talent, with some employees evidently seeking employment elsewhere in the business, or looking outside the industry altogether. The growth of "transplant" OEMs such as Toyota and Hyundai in the US are providing opportunities beyond the former Big Three, and the recovery in other segments of the economy means that execs can find less pain in those industries that have already endured their own downsizing cycles. Then there's also the draw of suppliers, many of whom can provide substantially higher compensation.

Ex-GM CFO Mary Boland sums things up just about perfectly: "Southeast Michigan is a pretty depressing place to be right now."

[Source: BusinessWeek via Yahoo Finance]