Word: opels
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...relieved that at the last minute Opel and GM Europe were ring-fenced from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S.," Klaus Franz, the head of Opel's works council tells TIME. "Of course I'm also worried about my U.S. friends, but I'm happy the bridge financing plan for Opel has worked out and all GM's European assets have been guaranteed," he says. But despite the German relief, major sacrifices among GM Europe's 55,000 workforce are unavoidable in the coming months. (See pictures of General Motors Factory-scapes...
...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...
...Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, a conservative politician from Angela Merkel's sister CSU party, criticized the deal to save Opel and apparently threatened to resign on Friday night when he was over-ruled. Guttenberg, a rising star in Merkel's coalition government, controversially suggested Opel should go into an "orderly insolvency" and he accused the government of risking billions for a short-term solution. "There is the danger the state could be blackmailed if it is too generous with state help even on one occasion," Guttenberg told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday...
...Chancellor got her way. On Saturday, a beaming Angela Merkel held a news conference in Berlin to announce the breakthrough. There was no hiding her delight, and relief. "The deal is a real chance for Opel workers," Angela Merkel said. "The workers aren't responsible for this crisis. The mismanagement at GM in the U.S. was to blame," she said. (Read about Merkel in the TIME...
...workers at GM plants across Europe are in the dark over what the 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...