dpa Opel renovation
02.02.2010
F Finance Minister Timothy Geithner explained to Federal Economics Minister Rainer Brüderle at a meeting in Washington that that the restructuring of the European business is solely a matter for management. The Detroit automaker, rescued with US taxpayers' money, is majority-controlled by the government. In response to pressure from Washington, GM's executive board and board of directors had been replaced.
GM should invest more in climate protection technology
The US government has full confidence in the new GM -Top, said Geithner according to information from Brüderle's spokeswoman Beatrix Brodkorb. The FDP politician is just making his first visit to the USA. In the next few days, GM's application for German state aid for Opel calculated. Brüderle had presented his expectation to the US government that General Motors would have to live up to its responsibility for the subsidiary Opel, Brodkorb said on Tuesday (02.02) to the German press agency dpa.
Opel works council fears almost 10,000 jobs across Europe
Brüderle called on GM to invest more in climate protection technology in the future. With its well-trained engineers, Opel could play an important role in the development of electric cars. GM wants to collect a total of around 2.7 billion euros in tax money from the Opel countries across Europe. GM sees its own restructuring contribution through the repayment of the Opel bridge loan of 600 million euros in November 2009 as made. According to estimates from German negotiating circles, this calculation by GM is unlikely to work out. The company will have to dig much deeper into its own pockets, it said at the federal and state levels. The Opel works council fears that instead of the announced 8,300 jobs, almost 10,000 jobs in Europe are actually on the brink.
