Thousands of disappointed employees demonstrated today against factory closures and massive job cuts that might be applied as part of GM's reorganization process. They expressed, through banners and posters, their disagreement for GM's decision, many of them describing the move as unacceptable.
But John Smith, GM Group Vice President Corporate Planning and Alliances (and GM’s chief negotiator for the sale of a stake in Opel/Vauxhall), said that General Motors is working on a plan similar to Magna's so, "if German authorities and workers agreed with the initial proposal, they should agree with this one as well". It is believed that General Motors is looking to remove around 10,000 jobs in Europe. Germany currently employs half of Opel's total workforce which amounts to 50,000.
General Motors is working hard to design a plan and submit it to European governments as soon as possible. Company officials expressed their confidence that, in spite of Germany's criticism, GM will still receive financial support from the countries that are hosting Opel factories. UK has already confirmed that it is willing to provide funds to GM while Spain, Poland and Belgium are likely to state their position in the near future.
Even if some people might be tempted to believe that the Opel saga came to an end, things are far from getting over. According to German newspaper Bild, chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking a meeting with Barack Obama to discuss the canceled deal. Angela Merkel was one of the German officials who strongly supported Magna and was ready to intervene in the talks to back the Canadian - Austrian partsmaker.
But a spokesman of the Obama administration has already stated that GM's board is the only one responsible for the decision.
"The administration was not involved with this decision, which was made by GM's board of directors," spokeswoman Meg Reilly was quoted as saying by Autonews.
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