lifer

Japan Times Online July 2 の記事GM is no transformer and that’s the problem に出てきた "lifer" と言う単語が気になりました。
GM’s inability to look outside of itself for talent, still relying on company lifers even in the face of undeniable evidence of deep cultural rot, demonstrates how far the firm is from a genuine transformation. In the latest corporate reshuffle, Barra named GM’s North American manufacturing chief to a new position in charge of “product excellence,” and replaced him with yet another company lifer.
GMは外部の優秀な人材を探すことができず  "lifer" に頼っていると言うことは  "lifer" に内部の人材の意味があるようですが、辞書で確かめます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A person serving a life sentence in prison.: ‘Before most lifers die in prison, they grow old, get sick, and must be cared for.’someone who has been sent to prison for the rest of their life
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: 1.a person who spends an entire career in the same job 2. a criminal who has been sentenced to spend the rest of his or her life in prison: He was a lifer at the factory.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: someone who has been punished by being put in prison for a very long time or until they die
GMは牢獄ですか？　米国では転職して待遇のより良い会社、身分になるのが好まれることが良く分かります。