ManagementOpel confirms slashing 9,500 jobs to fix European plants
The US auto maker General Motors has confirmed it will retain all four plants of its European subsidiary Opel in Germany but will cut 9,500 jobs in Europe as part of restructuring to make the company profitable again.
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The head of GM"s European operations Nick Reilly today assured state premier of Thuringia in eastern Germany Christine Lieberknecht that Opel"s Eisenach plant in the state will remain open.
Eisenach is an highly efficient plant and "we want to keep it as an important resource for Opel," Reilly said after talks with Lieberknecht at Opel"s main German plant in Ruesselsheim, near Frankfurt.
Reilly had confirmed earlier that the Ruesselsheim plant as well as two other German sites in Bochum in the state of North Rhine Westphalia and in Kaiserslautern in the state of Rhineland Palatinate will also be kept.
Before meeting Lieberknecht, Reilly held discussions with the state premier of Hessen, Roland Koch, and assured him that the Ruesselsheim plant will continue to remain GM"s main operational base in Europe and there will be no lay-offs there related to the planned restructuring.
The Ruesselsheim plant is extremely important for GM as it is not only a manufacturing plant but also a research and development centre, Reilly said.
The General Motors" recent decision to shift its European headquarters from Zurich to Ruesselsheim "is an indication of how much importance the GM has for the site," Reilly said.