Opel Cuts 10,000 Jobs

U.S.-based carmaker General Motors Co. (GM) has announced plans to reduce the spending of their German-based division Opel by 30 per cent and is prepared to cut some 10,000 jobs of the total of 50,000 jobs in Europe. The prospect has prompted Opel unions to stage energetic protests.

The GM has recently decided not to sell Opel to the consortium formed by Magna International Inc. - Canada and Sberbank - Russia as initially planned. The decision was explained by an improvement in economic conditions and the strategic importance of the Opel brand.

If Opel had been sold to Magna, the Canadian company would have committed to keep the four Opel factories in Germany open and contain job cuts at 2,600, thus saving a total of 25,000 jobs.

The German authorities are extremely displeased with GM"s latest decision and have demanded that GM repay a 1.5 billion EUR bridging loan, pledged by the German Government to keep Opel"s operations going ahead of the planned Magna takeover.

Trade unions in Belgium yesterday asked for a summit of the leaders of all the countries having Opel factories.

The European Commission and the leaders of the affected countries should meet to see what needs to be done now, as GM has scraped the plan to sell Opel to Magna/Sberbank, according to Rudi Kennes, Deputy Head of the GM Europe Works Council. He accused GM of having played with the employees of the Opel factories in Europe and the governments of the respective countries for no less than six months.

To protest GM"s decision, the union at the Opel factory an Antwerp has scheduled a rally for today.

Opel currently operates factories in five Members of the European Union: Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Poland and Spain. The British unions welcomed GM"s decision to keep Opel after all.