Opel has threatened to close plants in Eisenach and Bochum plus a facility in Antwerp, Belgium, according to media reports.
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Citing documents Opel had submitted to the German government, weekly magazine Der Spiegel said the move would see 20% of the company’s 55,000 staff in Europe laid off.
An alternative plan involved the loss of only 3,500 jobs if wage concessions were made, the report added.
Though it did not quote sources, Der Spiegel also said the German finance and economy ministries rejected directly injecting cash into Opel and that they agreed that any support should be restricted to guarantees, or, at most, loans to the automaker, according to Reuters.
GM has said it is considering “several” plant closures or spin offs in Europe.
