FRANKFURT, Oct 15 — US carmaker General Motors was close to signing a deal to sell a 55 per cent stake in its European arm Opel to Canada’s Magna today as talks continued with unions over job cuts.
Sources in Germany, home to around half of Opel’s 50,000 staff, said the deal could be signed today or tomorrow.
The deal, set to close by the end of next month, caps weeks of negotiations by the companies and Opel labour leaders, but still awaits details on financing, including 4.5 billion euros (RM22.8 billion) in aid being sought from states with Opel plants.
Opel’s 50,000 staff are supposed to get a 10 per cent stake in the new company in return for cost concessions, while GM will keep a 35 per cent stake.
GM decided last month to sell a majority stake to Magna and its Russian partner Sberbank.
Countries with Opel plants have fought to save jobs and avoid plant closures amid promises of billions in state aid.
Talks with unions were continuing in Spain after a union representing workers at Vauxhall, Opel’s British sister brand which employs 5,500 people, reached an agreement with Magna earlier in the week.
Magna agreed, among other concessions, not to implement enforced redundancies.
In Belgium, unions agreed to 20.2 million euros of cost savings at the Antwerp plant after Magna pledged to look into keeping the plant open. The facility had been seen as a top candidate for closure.
Poland’s economy ministry declined to confirm a radio report saying the government would award 450 million euros in aid.
“Poland plans to provide assistance whose amount will depend on the requests and needs of the New Opel in Gliwice,” a spokeswoman for Poland’s economy ministry said.
The Opel plant in Gliwice builds Zafira and Astra models.
In Spain Opel’s prospective new owner Magna offered yesterday to return 72 per cent of production of the new Opel Corsa to its Spanish plant in 2013.
Until then, production will drop to 70 per cent in favour of Germany, the Canadian car parts manufacturer said during a meeting with the regional Aragon government and union leaders in Zaragoza, northern Spain, home to the Opel factory which employs around 7,500 workers.
“Magna’s latest offer guarantees the Zaragoza plant’s capacity with two operating lines of 478,000 vehicles. That’s progress, but we’re going to continue negotiating today and tomorrow,” said Arturo Aliaga, industry counselor for Aragon.
An official at the Comisiones Obreras union said: “This is step forward, but we’re still waiting for more.”
The meeting followed a failed attempt on Tuesday in Madrid to reach an agreement over jobs at the Opel car factory in Zaragoza.
The Opel plant at Figueruelas employs 7,500 and Magna had proposed cutting between 1,300 to 1,650 jobs there.
Magna’s initial restructuring plans for Opel, which involve laying off more than 10,500 workers in Europe, have run into stiff opposition from European governments.
Magna and Sberbank have vowed to inject 500 million euros into the car maker, aiming to use it to make a push into the Russian market.
The European Commission is keeping a close eye on the transaction to ensure state aid is not misused for political purposes. — Reuters
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