German Government:Saving Jobs In Long-term Main Aim Of Any Opel Aid
09 März 2009 - 12:53PM
Dow Jones News
Securing jobs at General Motors Corp.'s (GM) German Opel unit
locations will be the government's main aim if it decides to give
the company any aid, a government spokesman said Monday.
Thomas Steg said it was clear that restructuring plans for Opel
weren't sufficient for the government to make a final decision.
"This plan is still incomplete and requires a fleshing out," Steg
told reporters.
"The federal government's aim is clear: to secure jobs at the
Opel plants permanently. And this goal is unanimously backed within
the federal government," he said.
"I want to make very clear: A decision of the federal government
regarding the future of Opel and possible help for Opel, such a
decision will take some weeks," he added.
GM Europe Chief Executive Carl-Peter Forster last week presented
the company's restructuring plan for Opel to the government and
said GM Europe needs EUR3.3 billion in aid across Europe. GM posted
a total 2008 loss of $30.9 billion.
German politicians are under pressure from labor unions to bail
out Opel, GM's largest European brand, to help save the company's
25,000 jobs - a figure which more than doubles when including parts
suppliers and other Opel-linked companies.
Web sites: www.bundesregierung.de; www.gm.co
-By Andrea Thomas, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 (0)30 - 2888 410;
andrea.thomas@dowjones.com