Merkel wants GM's new plan for Opel to focus on jobs

04 November 2009 @ 12:50 pm EDT

German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with Opel labour leader Klaus Franz on Wednesday that General Motors must present a plan for the European carmaker which focuses on job security, a government spokeswoman said.


Merkel wants GM's new plan for Opel to focus on jobs
Employees of German car manufacturer Opel hold a placard reading 'Opel has to stay even without GM' as they gather for a demonstration at the Opel headquarters in Ruesselsheim, February 26, 2009. Thousands of Opel workers from around Germany took part in a mass rally on Thursday at the company's headquarters, demanding parent General Motors scrap plans for plant closures in Europe.
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"Now, General Motors must quickly come up with a sustainable plan which particularly focuses on job security, which strengthens Opel's industrial and technological performance and which envisages a repayment of the money ... for bridge financing in good time, as agreed in the contract," said a government spokeswoman in a statement.

Separately, GM Europe head Carl-Peter Forster said plans drawn up by Canadian automotive group Magna, which had been planning to buy Opel before GM decided not to sell it, could form the basis of a new blueprint for an overhaul.

(Reporting by Brian Rohan)

Copyright 2009 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

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