GM Needs Money From All Over Europe

If you first don't succeed, try again, the saying goes. It is what GM is doing in order to raise the much needed $4.2 billion. The company is now talking to Spain, Britain and several other countries besides Germany to achieve its goal. If it doesn't, it could mean that some 300,000 people in Europe will be left out of a job.

"We are talking to governments outside of Germany. Obviously it started in Germany. We have half of our employment in Germany, most engineering capacity is in Germany. We have approached other governments," Carl-Peter Forster, GM Europe president was quoted as saying by msnbc.com.

GM is confident that with the money in its accounts, it can return to profitability by 2011. Of course, this is only true if GM's product line proves to be successful. If one of these conditions is not met, the company could go out of business in the second quarter of the year.

"Use your imagination. We would become insolvent at that time. That's what would happen if we run out of cash," Fritz Henderson, the company's chief operating officer said.

GM Europe's officials try to make European governments understand that their business is an European one, and should not be look at as it were only an Opel affair. In terms of human resources, at least, it is and the impact a possible failure could have might be disastrous.

"An investment in Opel Germany doesn't make sense. We need to create an European entity. It will take some plumbing work. It's not terribly difficult. Our business needs to be looked at as a European business," added Henderson.