European Union officials said no decision on granting aid to General Motors Co.'s Opel unit will be made until a meeting next month.
Opel will inform unions this week about its restructuring plan, acting chief Nick Reilly told reporters after meeting with EU officials today. Industry ministers will discuss the plan Dec. 4, Flemish regional leader Kris Peeters told reporters.
GM says Opel's restructuring, which may include three plant closures and 10,000 job losses, will cost about 3.3 billion euros ($4.9 billion), and the Detroit-based automaker has said it needs state financing to fund some of the expenses. Opel's $2.5 billion in cash may run out by March, Reilly said Nov. 17.
"We are looking for support of any government that feels willing to be able to provide us some financing support in the medium term," the Opel chief told reporters today. "We have indicated that we will provide some of the funding."
GM, the biggest U.S. carmaker, decided earlier this month to keep Ruesselsheim, Germany-based Opel rather than sell a majority stake to a group led by auto-parts supplier Magna International Inc. GM aims to raise 1.2 billion euros to 1.4 billion euros in financial aid from governments outside Germany to help restructure Opel, union leader Klaus Franz said Nov. 21.
"Member states will make no formal commitment before the next coordination meeting based on GM's restructuring plan," EU commissioners and officials from Belgium and Germany said in a statement today after meeting with Reilly in Brussels.
Plan Ready
Reilly said that a restructuring plan "is already in existence" and that GM won't be influenced in deciding where to cut jobs by how much money governments offer. Reilly will meet with labor representatives Nov. 25 for talks in Ruesselsheim, Harald Lieske, works council chief at Opel's Eisenach factory, said today by telephone.
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