Opel Workers to Support Belgians

Magna is already working on the future when it comes to Opel but it appears that things are getting more complicated every day. This time, German workers are threatening that some of them could go to Belgium and protest against Magna's decision to eliminate jobs at the factory in Antwerp or even close the plant entirely.

Just-auto.com reported that Opel's employees are planning to demonstrate "in a combative way", but officials close to the matter refused to comment on the subject and provide more details.

"We want to prevent redundancies and plant closures across the whole of Europe," Opel works council head Klaus Franz told Deutschlandfunk radio.

General Motors agreed two weeks ago to sell 55 percent of Opel to a group comprising Magna and the Russian state-backed bank Sberbank. 10 percent of the company will be handed to employees while 35 percent will be retained by the US-based manufacturer.

According to various media reports based on statements made by more or less trustworthy sources, Magna intends to cut around 10,500 jobs at Opel, 4,500 of them only in Germany. Belgium currently has approximately 5,500 Opel workers but the number could fall massively as the new Canadian - Austrian partsmaker is looking to reduce workforce in the country or even shut down operations at the Antwerp plant.

Magna hasn't commented on the reports so far, as the company is still working on the terms of the deal with both Germany and General Motors. The companies expect to close the deal by November and return Opel to profit by 2011.