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

"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)