GM Europe Labor Chief Wants Immediate Talks On Shareholding
06 März 2009 - 3:26PM
Dow Jones News
The top labor representative of General Motors Corp.'s (GM)
European division said Friday that he wants binding talks with Opel
dealers and workers over a shareholding in Opel/Vauxhall to start
immediately.
In a statement, Klaus Franz said parent GM should hold a
minority stake in Opel/Vauxhall and at the same time give the two
brands unlimited access to its global technology.
All patents used by Opel should be handed over to Opel/Vauxhall,
Franz added. Franz is a supervisory board member at Opel.
He criticized GM management for "only spreading negative
messages," which in he said led to politicians walking away from
Opel when the company "urgently needs support".
A decision on possible German government help for the Opel unit
will take weeks and the government has made no pre-commitments,
Economic Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said earlier
Friday.
GM Europe Chief Executive Carl-Peter Forster Monday presented
the company's restructuring plan for Opel to the government and
said the division needs EUR3.3 billion in aid across Europe to
stave off insolvency.
Company Web site: www.gm.com
-By Christoph Rauwald, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 512;
christoph.rauwald@dowjones.com
(Andrea Thomas contributed to this report).