Berlin: The chief executive of US automaker
General Motors has apologised and expressed "deep regret" for
the company's handling of a sale of its subsidiary Opel to
Canadian manufacturer Magna and Russian investment bank
Sperbank, a deal that was aborted last week.
GM CEO Fritz Henderson expressed his "deep regret" for
shocking the nation and provoking outrage among government
leaders, trade unions and Opel workers by making an unexpected
announcement last week to cancel the deal and instead to keep
Germany's second largest car manufacturer under its fold.
"It was not our intention to surprise anybody, although
now we know that we have done that. We deeply regret it," he
said in a German television interview.
His comments came after the German Chancellor Angela
Merkel sharply criticised the company for cancelling the sale,
which was supported by Germany's government as the best option
for saving a major part of around 25,000 jobs in this country.
"For months, the General Motors was not in a position
even to nearly fulfil its responsibility towards Opel," Merkel
said in her first comment on the aborted deal yesterday in the
Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.
"I extremely regret the decision by the General Motors,"
the chancellor said.
The proposed sale of Opel to Magna was preferred by the
German government because Magna had promised to keep all four
production locations in this country and to lay off a maximum
of only 2,600 German workers.
The German federal government and state governments paid
Opel a bridging loan of 1.5 billion Euros in May when it
looked certain that Magna would buy the company.
Merkel demanded from GM leadership a "concrete solution"
which will secure Opel's jobs, know-how and production
locations in Germany. "Such a solution can function only when
the GM finances a major part of Opel's restructuring with its
own resources," she said.
Henderson, currently on a German visit to mend relations
with Opel's workers and management, said GM changed its plans
to sell Opel because the situation has "clearly changed" for
the parent company, especially in the last two months.
The GM also wanted to restore its credibility and to
repair its relations with its workers in Germany and in other
European production locations, he said.
"It is about winning back the confidence of our workers
and there are different ways for doing that and we have
already taken the first steps in that direction," he said.
He visited Opel's main production location in
Ruesselsheim, near Frankfurt and held talks with the workers's
council on the restructuring plans.
Henderson said it was inappropriate to talk now about how
many jobs in Germany will be shed or any of the four Opel
production locations will be closed as part of restructuring.
"What is important now is to enter into dialogue with the
representatives on the company's workers' council and to reach
a solution with their involvement," he said.
Opel's restructuring will start from what has been
already achieved by the company.
Henderson said he was convinced that with the support of
the company's highly efficient workforce and a strong brand
name it would be possible to transform the company into a
successful carmaker which is competitive in world markets.
He thanked the state loan and said a part of the bridging
loan was paid back and the remaining 600 million Euros will be
returned by the end of November, he said.
Henderson retracted an earlier warning to Opel workers
that the company would apply for insolvency if its
restructuring plans were not supported by its workers.
"An insolvency for the company is not necessary and
it is not probable, he said. Instead of taking the road to
insolvency, it would be possible to take the company back to
the days of profitable business through restructuring...
Insolvency is not in our consideration," he said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 00:44