Reports that PSA is planning to sell parts of Opel's Ruesselsheim research and development unit have been met with a strong reaction from union representatives at Opel.
According to Reuters, Opel works council chief Wolfgang Schaefer-Klug told journalists that if it is offered up for sale by parent PSA, it is a 'suicide mission'.
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A report in French daily newspaper Le Monde said that Opel and PSA Group had approached engineering contractors about a sale that would include four separate parts valued at EUR500m.
The union also said that selling off Opel's development 'would put Opel's future at risk', Reuters reported.
In a statement Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller said that "engineering is and will stay at the core of Opel" and that "all future Opel models will be developed here in Ruesselsheim. Furthermore, we are taking over numerous important tasks for the entire Groupe PSA."
He also said that workload from GM will decrease 'drastically' over the coming years and that options are being explored to create a viable engineering centre.
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By GlobalDataThe statement goes on:
"Strategic partnerships with other companies are part of these considerations," he said. "At this moment in time and as already mentioned, no decisions on this have been made. Furthermore, it not yet clear which options can result in viable solutions. Obviously, our social partner will be involved in the process.
"We have informed the IG Metall and the General Works Council regularly and since December 2017 already that we are checking the viability of strategic partnerships in engineering as a means to secure long-term employment in the Engineering Centre. This information is also part of the agreement also signed by the General Works Council last year. The claim that we denied such plans in the board of arbitration is wrong.
"I am convinced that it is our duty as the Management Team to check all possibilities of securing long-term employment at the site. For this purpose we agreed important key points in May. Amongst others, this includes an employment guarantee until 2023. We stand by this and now want to put this in writing in a collective agreement. We want to do so this week and are currently in intensive discussions with the social partner."
