VW CEO Martin Winterkorn said on Friday that Volkswagen will reconsider doing business with Magna for a list of several complex components if the Canadian firm will take over Opel, Automotive News reported.
In response to this statement, Opel’s labor union leader Klaus Franz, said it compares VW’s reaction to a form of blackmail. "The threat not to award Magna with contracts is tantamount to blackmail”, were his words.
"Whoever says a rescue of Opel through Magna poses a competitive disadvantage is hoping for the downfall of Opel in order to gain an edge for himself and reduce his own overcapacities at the cost of Opel", Klaus Franz added.
After this “lacking fair-play” move (to say the least) from VW, Opel union leader went on revealing Volkswagen “has enjoyed state support for decades because VW's home state of Lower Saxony has a 20 percent stake in the Wolfsburg-based carmaker”, the same source reported.
Among these remarks from VW, Magna said it assures all its business partners that even if it takes over control of Opel, it will continue doing business with them in a professional manner.
Up until now, Magna’s European unit in Steyr, Austria, has been responsible for the BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz G-Klasse, Chrysler 300C, Jeep Commander and Grand Cherokee, for three different companies without having any problems.
Ford Motor Co’s European unit, based in Germany, is another close competitor of Opel, but reported it is not worried about Magna taking control. As Ford CFO Lewis Booth said earlier this month "we've had discussions with Magna about ensuring the appropriate safeguards for our intellectual property. We'll work with Magna to make sure we mitigate any ramifications."
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