Neutron Jack takes a shot at Immelt

General Electric (GE) chief Jeff Immelt is under attack from a surprising source. His predecessor as CEO of the conglomerate, Jack Welch, said on CNBC Wednesday morning that Immelt “has a credibility issue” after GE’s recent earnings miss. Immelt had promised as recently as last month that GE would hit its full-year earnings target of $2.42 a share, but he was forced to recant Friday after the company’s first-quarter profits fell short of targets. Part of the problem was that the company failed to raise as much money as expected through financial asset sales. GE shares tumbled 13% Friday in the wake of the shortfall, which was GE’s first in three years, though they rose fractionally Wednesday.

“Here’s the screw-up: you made a promise that you’d deliver this and you miss three weeks later,” Welch said on CNBC, Bloomberg reported. Welch, who mastered the dark secrets of earnings management during his long run atop GE, added that he doesn’t expect to see another earnings miss. “I would be shocked beyond belief,” he said on the GE-owned network, “and I’d get a gun out and shoot him if he doesn’t make what he promised now.”