Fiat plans to keep all German Opel plants open should its GM Europe takeover plans succeed but would cut the number of workers, Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne has said.
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“We don’t want to close any of the four Opel factories in Germany. I will need the plants in the future to build enough cars,” he was quoted as saying by the Bild newspaper, according to a Reuters report.
“But of course staff levels have to fall. No one will be able to change that. The plants have to become more efficient.”
He said he could not estimate at this stage how many of the 25,000 Opel jobs in Germany might have to go.
Germany’s economy minister had said after meeting Marchionne on Monday that Opel’s engine plant in Kaiserslautern might not survive a Fiat takeover, Reuters noted.
Magna is also eyeing Opel as GM sells a majority stake in an attempt to get EUR3.3bn in state aid from European governments.
“Magna wants to get into Opel with Russian help. It would surprise me if the German government would consider that a good solution,” Marchionne told the paper.
