GM May Ask Germany for Money

The over confident statements made by GM's CEO, Fritz Henderson, that the company he leads may be able to keep Opel running on its own, may turn out not to be true in the end. As the CEO is currently trekking Germany to put to rest the concerns raised by Opel workers, German officials and such, it would appear that GM may after all ask Germany to chip in.

What is surprising, as far as statements goes, is that Germany may do so. With a fair amount of people in the country working for Opel and connected business, it would be somewhat inconceivable for Germany not to lend a hand. Or cash.

Still, Germany will not give away any money just because Henderson says so. According to Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle, GM needs to go out of its way to come up with a pretty good plan. As Bruederle says, this is however unlikely, especially because we are talking about...GM.

"I am very skeptical that the company which has acted so wrong suddenly comes up with new ideas overnight," the minister was quoted as saying by Financial Times Deutschland.

GM path towards more money will not be clear, credit rating agency Moody's says, until GM finds a way to redeem itself.

"The company will have to make considerable efforts to rebuild bridges with the German government and the unions, both of whom have been extremely angered by GM's reversal on Opel."

As promised last week, Germany should see a plan for Opel this week. Than again, GM also promised to give Opel to Magna, and they even signed paperwork. Several times...