Word: magnas
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Thousands of Opel workers in Germany are breathing a huge sigh of relief after the last-minute deal to rescue GM's European operations. German unions had always supported Austrian-Canadian company Magna International's takeover of GM Europe, wary that the rival bid from Fiat was just an attempt, as one union official put it, to "pinch German engineering." The unions regard Magna as an innovative company that put forward the best plan to secure the long-term future of Opel. At the carmaker's headquarters in the town of Rüsselsheim near Frankfurt, workers were hugging friends...
...After marathon talks on Friday night, the German government approved plans by the Austrian-Canadian car-parts manufacturer Magna to take over GM's European business. Under the deal, Opel will be placed in a trust and the German government will provide a bridging loan of $2.1 billion (€1.5 billion) to provide Opel with emergency funding and keep GM's European operations running. On top of that, the German government will give $4.3 billion (€3 billion) in loan guarantees. The Canadian firm would own 20% of the new group, Russia's biggest lender Sberbank would have...
...plans mean for them in the future. Opel employs around 26,000 workers in Germany, almost half of GM Europe's total workforce of 55,000. With Germany in the driving seat during the negotiations, politicians and trade unions in other European countries are concerned the new investor Magna, along with its Russian partners, will protect German jobs at the expense of other jobs. "There are going to be more tough negotiations with GM Europe and Magna," says Klaus Franz, the head of Opel's works council. "A very stony road lies ahead of us. Jobs will...
...Apart from Germany, GM Europe has factories in Belgium, Spain, Poland and Britain. It's not clear whether Magna will shut down the two Vauxhall factories in Luton and Ellesmere Port in the U.K., which employ 5,000 workers. The British Business Secretary Lord Mandelson grumbled that Magna had been "vague about their job and business plans." There are also questions over the robustness of Magna, which has been hit hard by the global downturn. Magna said during the negotiations it would cut 10,000 jobs across Europe, with the axe falling on around 2,500 jobs in Germany...
...German union leaders insist other European countries will play a role in future negotiations with Magna over the restructuring. "We need a pan-European solution and I'm sure other European countries will come up with loan guarantees in the future when the new group under Magna is reshaped," says Klaus Franz. But it could be months before GM's workers in Europe find out what its new owners have in store for them...