German Official: GM's Job Cuts Are "Completely Unacceptable"

General Motors held talks with German officials and labor leaders over the proposed job cuts, revealing that Germany would be the most affected if its restructuring plan gets the final approval. But the premier of the German state of Hesse, which hosts Opel's headquarters in Ruesselsheim, said that eliminating 2,500 jobs at the local facility is "completely unacceptable" and demanded GM to stick to the initial plans submitted by Magna.

Roland Koch said that Magna intended to cut between 1,400 and 1,600 jobs in Ruesselsheim by 2014.

"We expect that GM orients itself very closely to this concept and clarifies that the figures published by the media are overly exaggerated," the Hesse premier said on Thursday according to a report by Reuters.

The first estimates are pointing to a 9,000 job cut expected to be applied over Opel's European workforce, with 50 to 60 percent to come from Germany. The company is planning to reduce European capacity by 20 to 25 percent in European plants but a final decision won't be made before mid-December.

"Time is not on our side. I cannot make excuses for things done in the past, but we can move forward. I intend to present by mid-December a sustainable plan that is in the best interest of Opel and Vauxhall; one with clearly defined, achievable results," Nick Reilly, Opel and Vauxhall CEO, said in a statement.

"Opel/Vauxhall must reduce its capacity across Europe by somewhere between 20 and 25 percent. We are still finalizing the details on the plan, and that is why next week I will be back in Brussels, meeting with EU representatives as well as governmental officials from the five countries where we have plants."