SWITZERLAND: Opel welcomes GM announcement that it is tripling its funding of its European unit
Record ID:
783694
SWITZERLAND: Opel welcomes GM announcement that it is tripling its funding of its European unit
- Title: SWITZERLAND: Opel welcomes GM announcement that it is tripling its funding of its European unit
- Date: 3rd March 2010
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (MARCH 2, 2010) (REUTERS) GENEVA CAR SHOW OPEL LOGO TO OPEL BOOTH BACK OF THE OPEL MERIVA OPEL LOGO WITH CAR IN THE FOREGROUND OPEL BOOTH (SOUNDBITE) (English) OPEL'S CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, ALAIN VISSER, SAYING: "It really means that now after 16 months of speculation about the future of this company, we now are secure. That means not only is the restructuring plan funded but also the future products to come onto the market place in the short term are now funded, so I think this is an extremely important and positive news for us, our employees, our dealers and our customers." INTERIOR OF AN OPEL CAR OPEL MERIVA CAR OPEL LOGO HOSTESS WITH OPEL CONCEPT CAR GENEVA CAR SHOW
- Embargoed: 18th March 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Switzerland
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Industry,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA3KWUO5J2U7MO5YE2MRTGAS2ZL
- Story Text: General Motors announced on Tuesday (March 2) it had tripled its funding of European arm Opel and cut its request for state aid in a bid to win over European governments and the workforce.
The U.S. carmaker said it will provide 1.9 billion euros (2.57 billion USD) in equity and loans -- up from the 600 million euros first earmarked -- which Opel said on Tuesday would provide enough cash to operate through the end of this year.
Opel had previously said it had enough liquidity to last well into the second quarter.
"It really means that now after 16 months of speculation about the future of this company, we now are secure. That means not only is the restructuring plan funded but also the future products to come onto the market place in the short term are now funded, so I think this is an extremely important and positive news for us, our employees, our dealers and our customers," Opel's Chief Marketing Officer told Reuters.
GM last year drew the anger of European governments and workers when it scrapped plans to sell Opel and asked them to contribute to the cost of returning the carmaker to profit.
Germany -- asked to provide the lion's share of aid -- had been cool to the idea of funnelling taxpayer funds into Opel after GM abandoned a deal with Canada's Magna that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had helped broker.
Labour representatives have baulked at GM's plans to shut an Opel factory in Belgium and rescinded their promise to contribute 265 million euros in annual cost concessions.
GM's plan for Opel envisages 8,300 job cuts factories across Europe, shuttering the Antwerp plant, 20 percent capacity cuts and a return to profit by 2012. Opel has about 50,000 workers, half of which are based in its four German factories.
GM had originally asked European countries with Opel plants -- including Germany, Belgium, Britain, Austria, Poland and Spain -- to contribute 2.7 billion euros of aid.
GM last year briefly slipped into U.S. bankruptcy protection as consumers tightened their belts amid the global economic crisis, causing the worst downturn in auto sales in decades.
Backed by over 50 billion USD in U.S. government aid, it has slashed costs, cut 34,000 jobs last year, eliminated 78 billion U.S. dollars of debt and built up a cash hoard of almost 43 billion U.S. dollars. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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