Opel management called on staff to abandon any false illusions that parent General Motors
was the root cause of the ailing European carmaker's problems and accept its own shortcomings.
"I am not of the opinion that we can make GM responsible for all of our problems. That is only a poor excuse to avoid assuming responsibility for the difficult situation - it's a victim mentality," chief executive Nick Reilly said in a letter to workers after appointing his new management team last Friday.
Lacking a product smaller than its Corsa subcompact already hurt in normal market conditions, but Opel's problems would be exacerbated due to a likely sharp decline in volumes in 2010.
In the letter, Reilly forecast the western European car market would lose 1.5 million units this year, implying a total level of around 12.1 million vehicles.
