Post-crisis crash faces car industry
GM’s move to keep Opel should not have come as a surprise when, even at the height of the crisis, it seemed reluctant to to give up control of its European operations, writes Paul Betts
GM in Europe
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GM’s decision to retain its Vauxhall and Opel car businesses sends shockwaves through the auto industry and brings to a head a saga that has set governments across Europe against each other and put thousands of jobs at risk
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Interactive: Revamping GM
Thousands of European car workers’ jobs hang in the balance as GM continues to restructure. View FT.com’s collection of graphics, including an interactive timeline of the US giant’s restructuring; a comprehensive presentation and an audio slideshow of 101 years of the carmaker; and a breakdown of its European operations
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GM to slash capacity by 20% in Europe
The US carmaker says it plans to cut capacity by 20 to 25 per cent and headcount by 9,000-10,000 at its European bands Opel and Vauxhall, but denied it would engage in a ‘bidding war’ over jobs with European governments from which it is seeking aid
GM eyes payback timeline
Three months after an unusually swift journey through the bankruptcy courts, General Motors reported financial results showing it was in better shape than many had expected
GM to begin repaying government loans
General Motors reported a further loss in its first quarter since leaving bankruptcy, but said it would begin repaying its bail-out loans to the US and Canadian governments next month
Opel fights to keep seat of power
General Motors tries to appease Opel’s works council and managers outraged by its decision to hold on to the carmaker by promising greater independence for its European unit
GM chief promises cash for new-look Opel
The US carmaker promises a more independent European unit and vows to support it with fresh money after a series of meetings with its management and works council
Comment & Analysis
Why carmakers must slam door on political correctness
If France and Germany want to see fewer demands for government help in the future, they would do well to let carmakers make decisions based on industrial rather than political logic
GM / Opel
A measure of commonsense has broken out after seven months of wrangling over the future of General Motors’ Opel/Vauxhall business
Fresh doubts over viability of Magna’s business plan
GM’s decision to sell control of Opel to a Canadian-Russian consortium was applauded by the Kremlin, Angela Merkel’s government and the ‘Opelaner’, as the carmaker’s 25,000 employees in Germany call themselves
Editorial
Detroit ex machina
General Motors surprised everyone by saying it will not after all sell Opel and Vauxhall, its main European operations. Although many obstacles remain, GM’s decision is good for Europe’s car industry
GM Europe
Lord Mandelson is rightly protesting that German aid promised to the Magna-led consortium acquiring the Opel arm seems to favour German plants
Berlin’s wrong turn
Magna’s assurance that restructuring will be guided purely by commercial considerations is laughable when the group is accepting financing that depends on political decisions
Germany’s risky game of chicken
The greatest risk is political. It would be naïve to think that the Kremlin’s direct access to decisions affecting thousands of German jobs does not give it a lever on German politics
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