GM Can't Afford to Keep Opel

Recent reports claiming American manufacturer GM has had a change of heart and is now trying to raise money to keep Opel have stirred both controversy and anger in Germany. With Opel's fate more unsure than ever, the German-backed trust in charge with the Opel sale wanted to had its say today.

Fred Irwin, the chairman of the trust told Bloomberg that GM can't afford, given the current conditions, to keep operating on foreign markets. Irwin said GM should "get their house in order, and I think they definitely know this.”

“We have reasonable people that have the same goal, which is to sell Adam Opel,” said Irwin. "When you have reasonable people with a common goal, then they should come up with a reasonable solution.”

With pressure mounting for GM from all sides, including from Opel workers, a new deadline to complete the sale of the German manufacturer seems to have been set: the beginning of the Frankfurt Auto Show, on September 17.

If a deal is not reached by then, it may be all over for Opel. Following the auto show, Germany will enter federal election fever. The election of the new government will not allow for talks between the parties involved in the Opel affair to be held sooner than January 2010. By then, Opel would have long run out of funds.

Opel workers are not helping either. Earlier today, reports came in they will ask for their vacation bonuses to be paid, even if earlier this year they announced they will forgo them. If true, the move will force GM to pay some 70 million euros in cash by next week.