A German regional state passed a law on Wednesday giving Opel EUR500m in loan guarantees in case parent company General Motors goes bankrupt.


The parliament in Hesse, western Germany, home to Opel’s largest plant with 18,300 employees, passed the law unanimously two days after Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to decide by Christmas whether to also offer federal guarantees.


The law, which is open to other auto companies, was rushed through Hesse’s parliament in Wiesbaden because it was about to disband the same day to allow for early elections in January, AFP reported.