General Motor’s German arm – Adam Opel AG – said Monday (27/11/00) that production
downtime for its Ruesselsheim site will be longer than normal this coming Christmas,
writes Dow Jones (28/11/00).

Quoting a company press spokeswoman, Dow Jones reports that due to fluctuating
demand, the plant will remain closed from Christmas Day to January 9 whereas
the site would normally cease production from Christmas through to New Year’s
Day. The spokeswoman refused to comment on the actual extent of the production
decrease.

Opel’s press spokeswoman also scotched persistent market rumours that Chairman
Robert Hendry may step down before the end of this year, saying that Mr Hendry
plans to fulfil his contract.

The supervisory board of Opel – which is expected to post an operating loss
this year – is meeting Tuesday (28/11/00), says Dow Jones.