Opel Will Go Begging Again
This week, Opel will embark on a pan-European begging tour. Applications for government aid will be sent to Germany’s central government, Germany’s states with Opel plants, and to the European countries where Opel has a presence. A business plan, and an expert opinion from the little known CPA firm Warth & Klein will complete the package, writes Das Autohaus. Target of the funds drive are €2.7b. Opel management still counts on wage concessions of €265m per year over five years (a total of €1.3b). Unions and the Opel Works Council already have said “nein” to the concessions. Governments want to see the paperwork first,
If a country or a state gives money tied to keeping plants open, then the matter will be immediately shot down by the EU. Furthermore, Opel management must prove to the EU that in the medium term they can survive without the governmental drip feed. That’s a tall order. Hard to prove for Opel, and hard to imagine why anyone would donate to the cause unless the money secures jobs.
German media is already abuzz with an allegedly secret “Plan B” – which assumes that the funds drive will come in under target. In this case, be very afraid: Untold numbers of jobs would be axed, and wholesale closures of plants could ensue.
The unions are unimpressed by the posturing. They doubt that GM has the money to go it alone. Labor leader Klaus Franz warns GM to be careful with the what ifs: “It could easily be construed as blackmail.”
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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I am just trying to get this straight...who is the organ grinder, who is the monkey, and who is the nun?
BK is best. GM is fishing for Euro .gov money to keep the design dept they need badly as it would just leave them with entry level Korea designed cars.
This is actually Washington going begging/coercing, which means that the true discussions are government-to-government. This part is hilarious: "The unions are unimpressed by the posturing. They doubt that GM has the money to go it alone. Labor leader Klaus Franz warns GM to be careful with the what ifs: 'It could easily be construed as blackmail.'” No party is playing hardball harder than the unions. Together with their partners in the European governments, they intend to force Government Motors to fork over US taxpayer cash. They believe that Washington will find it politically expedient to spend its way out of being tarred with the visible failure of closing down Opel.
I don't understand the union's position. They don't think GM/Opel can go it alone, so they don't want to make concessions? My guess, if the money isn't going to come from the gov'ts of Europe, Opel dies. First, GM "buys" all of the intellectual property and tooling. Then, Opel is divested and goes into bankruptcy shortly after. That is how I would do it. I guess govts of Europe are ready to see Opel gone.