Spanish Workers Call Off Strike Days At Opel After Magna Deal
27 Oktober 2009 - 2:01PM
Dow Jones News
Labor unions at Opel's Spanish plant have called off four strike
days after workers in assemblies Monday approved a deal with Magna
International Inc. (MGA), a union spokeswoman said Tuesday.
The unions last week had called for strikes on Oct. 28, and 30,
and on Nov. 3 and 5 to protest planned job cuts at Opel's plant
near Zaragoza in northern Spain.
But workers Monday approved a deal reached Thursday with Magna
that limits job cuts at the Spanish plant to 900 from some 1,700
planned initially. The agreement also guarantees keeping a large
part of the manufacturing of certain Opel models in Spain.
Spain's Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian Friday said his
government would give financial aid to Opel if workers approved the
deal with Magna.
A deal involving General Motors Co. (GM) selling its majority
stake in Opel to a consortium including Austrian-Canadian car parts
maker Magna and Russia's OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS) was expected to be
signed in early October, but has suffered delays due to labor
issues and concerns about state aid.
The board of General Motors Co. will meet Nov. 3 to discuss
whether it wants to sell Opel to the Magna consortium.
-By Bernd Radowitz, Dow Jones Newswires, +34 91 395 81 20,
djmadrid@dowjones.com