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General Motors reaffirmed on Friday it wants state aid to help overhaul European arm Opel after a newspaper quoted GM's chairman as saying the U.S. carmaker will not ask German taxpayers for help.
The topic is politically sensitive since GM this month reversed a decision to sell a majority stake in Opel to a consortium led by Canada's Magna, a deal backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel's German government.
Separately, Merkel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper she expected GM to remember the role Germany played in saving Opel from insolvency in June when Detroit decides which Opel jobs to cut in Europe.
Half of Opel's 50,000 staff work in Germany.
"The restructuring of Opel for long-term sustainability requires involvement and financial support from all stakeholders, including employees and governments," GM Europe said on Friday. "We remain in discussions with governments to engage our plan in the same way they were willing to do with the Magna proposals to provide the best possible footing for Opel/Vauxhall success."
Britain, Spain, Belgium and Poland also host Opel plants.
Job Cuts
Magna's plans foresaw cutting 4,000 Opel jobs in Germany.
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AP |
Unions in Germany fear far more could be at risk now because GM Europe production boss Eric Stevens had originally seen a need to shut German Opel plants in Bochum and Eisenach.
German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said on Thursday that GM did not need state aid for Opel because the company can shoulder the cost of restructuring by itself, citing comments attributed to GM Chairman Ed Whitacre.
Attending an event at the Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, the U.S. government appointee to GM's board of directors told a German journalist that the U.S. carmaker was financially strong enough to stem the costs itself.
Whitacre also distanced himself from comments by GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson, who apologized to Germany for the way the issue the Opel sale issue was handled.
"I don't agree whatsoever with Henderson in that regard. The decision-making process may have been confusing for some but we have nothing to be apologetic for," Whitacre said.
GM's management indicated it could rely on U.S. taxpayer money if needed, but believe European governments are willing to assume the risk since GM's restructuring plan is just as comprehensive as Magna's was.
Bruederle's cabinet colleague, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, told WirtschaftsWoche in comments published on Friday that GM may indeed receive some aid from the German government.
"We just cannot say we would have done everything for Magna, but for another owner it's entirely out of the question since we feel a responsibility for the people (working there)," Schaeuble said.
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