Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has announced a 300 million euros loan guarantee to General Motors Europe which will help secure the company's operations in Britain and the rest of Europe. The outline agreement follows detailed and highly complex talks between the Government and GM. The guarantee will be provided under the Government's … [Read more...]
Vauxhall job security “not certain”
September 17, 2009 By
The fate of 5,500 Vauxhall workers and thousands of other people employed by companies that supply parts to the vehicle manufacturer are by no means certain, according to Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of trade union Unite. He was speaking at a 'Saving Vauxhall jobs, defending the UK car industry' fringe meeting at this year's TUC … [Read more...]
GM Europe takeover must not favour German workers
September 14, 2009 By
European regulators must ensure the takeover of General Motors European operations by Canadian firm, Magna does not favour workers in German plants, UK Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has said. Germany has offered Magna loans, but Lord Mandelson told the BBC there must be no link between aid and saved jobs. Separately, Belgium wants the EU to … [Read more...]
RHJ say Vauxhall safe if they win bid
August 12, 2009 By
RHJ International, the Belgian group vying to buy Vauxhall/Opel says it has no plans to close the car firm's two manufacturing plants in Britain at Luton and Ellesmere Port. RHJ and Magna International are the two companies bidding to take a controlling stake in General Motors Europe. It had been thought that a new owner would close at least one … [Read more...]
Magna posts $205 Million second quarter loss
August 8, 2009 By
Magna International Inc., the parts supplier bidding for General Motors Europe, posted a second-quarter net loss of $205 million as automakers slashed purchases. The deficit of $1.83 a share compares with year-earlier net income of $227 million, or $1.98, the Aurora, Ontario-based company said in a statement today. The results missed … [Read more...]
GM Europe boss confident of Magna purchase “soon”
July 4, 2009 By
General Motors Europe President Carl-Peter Forster expects that Opel will be sold to a consortium led by Magna International soon. "I am quite confident after a top-level meeting of GM and Magna, where broad consent was reached," Forster told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung i. "It's only about details." … [Read more...]
Ripplewood waits in the wings for GM Europe
June 17, 2009 By
Ripplewood, the private equity group, is understood to be ready to return with a bid for General Motors Europe should the carmaker's Canadian suitor fail to complete its acquisition. About 5,500 British jobs hang in the balance at Vauxhall as Magna International, the Canadian car parts supplier, trawls through the accounts of the Luton-based … [Read more...]
D-day for GM Europe
May 27, 2009 By
The German government will meet later on today (Wednesday 27th May) to decide which of the four bidders for General Motors Europe it will back with loan guarantees. Owner General Motors will have the final say, but the German government's backing is crucial, as GM would struggle to find a buyer without it. … [Read more...]
Fiat improves bid for General Motors Europe
May 24, 2009 By
BBC Business News is reporting that Italian carmaker Fiat has improved its bid to buy Opel and its UK brand Vauxhall from General Motors. Germany's Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said that Fiat had provided more detail about capital contributions and risk-sharing. … [Read more...]
Mandelson wants “clarity” over Vauxhall
May 11, 2009 By
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson says he wants 'early clarity and decisions' about the future of General Motors Europe amid growing concerns for the 5,000 staff employed in the UK by subsidiary Vauxhall. … [Read more...]
German newspaper reports Fiat plans 18,000 job cuts after GM deal
May 6, 2009 By
Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper is reporting that it has seen a Fiat internal “strategy plan” dated April 3rd that states that the company would cut 18,000 jobs as 10 assembly and component sites if it reached a deal with General Motors Europe. The cuts would include both Vauxhall plants in the UK and two Fiat factories in … [Read more...]
Crunch time for Vauxhall/Opel
April 3, 2009 By
General Motors Europe is speaking to industrial groups, sovereign wealth funds and banks which are interested in buying a stake in Opel/Vauxhall, company sources said Friday. … [Read more...]
Government ready to discuss helping out Vauxhall
March 8, 2009 By
The UK government said it would discuss helping General Motors' British unit Vauxhall once it saw the U.S. automaker's European restructuring plans. "When the plan is shared with us, we will be able to sit down with GM to discuss how we can best continue to help Vauxhall," a spokeswoman for Britain's business ministry said. … [Read more...]
GM Europe “almost out of cash”
March 3, 2009 By
General Motors Europe will run out of money in the second quarter unless European governments come quickly to the company's aid, Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson said. Henderson also said GM is willing to give up majority ownership of Opel, the German brand it has owned since 1929. "There are no options off the table. We have to be … [Read more...]
More bad news as GM posts $1.6bn loss in Europe
February 26, 2009 By
General Motors Europe´s financial health deteriorated sharply during 2008 as the carmaker suffered an "adjusted" pretax loss of $1.6 billion, compared with an "adjusted" pretax profit of $55 million in 2007. GM Europe blamed lower unit sales, a poorer mix of models sold and "unfavorable" foreign exchange for the loss. GM Europe´s full-year … [Read more...]
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