With GM wanting to have a turn-around plan for its money-losing Opel division in a couple of months by summer, one would think there is at least some sense of urgency. Opel’s workers thought the same – until management rebuffed repeated attempts to sit down and talk. Opel labor leader Wolfgang Schaefer-Klug said management was not being “responsible” by rejecting the repeated efforts for negotiations, Reuters reports.
The European employee forum of General Motors says speculation on the future of GM’s European sites has damaged the image of Opel and Vauxhall:
“It is especially the case that employees in all European sites suffer insecurity from this speculation. Potential customers are furthermore made insecure in the already difficult economic environment.”
Workers’ representatives have asked the boards of GM and Opel for discussions, but talks were rejected, the statement says.
Why? Do they think talks won’t bear fruit? Do they not have a plan to present?
I’m sure GM knows what they’re doing.
You owe me a keyboard, my coffee ruined it.
Sorry. I couldn’t resist.
There is only so much money to go around. Wishes, meet my friend Reality.
That reality has not stopped unions from driving their employers into the financial abyss before. Take the UAW, for instance, GM, Chrysler, and almost, Ford… The UAW’s wishes became the taxpayers’ reality.
Ahh, but then there’s always the tax payer funded bail outs, right? Next we’ll be bailing out the GM-PSA alliance and the whole of France.
There is a very large faction of US taxpayers who wish to let failed companies like GM die and liquidate, or otherwise give them away like Chrysler to Fiat. The reality however is to nationalize these failed companies at taxpayer expense. Not a good thing if you are a tax payer.
My guess is they’re still figuring out what production capacity PSA has, and contingencies for where to close plants etc depending on how negotiations go
I think that’s about it. No use talking to the unions until there’s a plan.
I suspect the plan they’re cooking up is pretty dire, and it won’t involve a bailout from Germany.
I suspect that they already have their turnaround plan, and it involves either selling Opel or simply asking the last guy to leave the plant to turn off the lights.
Europe’s economy is tanking. Every week of sales data gives GM more leverage.
Legal consultants will be dealing on behalf of management. My guess restructuring involving layoffs after strikes or lockouts.
How does Opel/Vauxhall maintain marketshare against the rest of the Germans with NO support from Detroit? Or access to NA markets? THEY DONT. IE Saab. FUGM
Work with the Unions GM, this is Germany, not Michigan.