Germany Fumes Over GM Ditching Opel Sale To Magna

MELISSA EDDY

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's politicians fumed with anger and Opel workers cancelled cost concessions and readied walkouts after General Motors Co. abandoned the sale of its European subsidiary to parts maker Magna International and Russian bank Sberbank.

Klaus Franz, Adam Opel GmbH's top employee representative, called it a "black day" and said workers would start brief work stoppages Thursday.

GM's decision Tuesday to abandon the deal was a sharp blow to government and labor officals who supported it as the restructuring option that would save the most jobs in Germany.

The German government had put up a euro1.5 billion ($2.2 million) bridge loan to keep Opel afloat as a buyer was sought, and promised euro4.5 billion in further financing so Magna and Sberbank could take a 55 percent stake.

Magna had said it planned to cut about 10,500 of the 50,000 Opel jobs in Europe, with less than half the job cuts, or around 4,500, in Germany. It also said it would keep all four German plants open.

With the deal now off, German workers face the prospect of a restructuring that is less favorable to them.