FRANKFURT (Dow Jones) – The struggling car manufacturer Opel has presented its long-awaited plan for the future. Save the one hand, the rigorous and massive investment in new products and markets of the other group wants the tradition back to winning ways. (Photo: ddp)
To survive, the volume manufacturers, especially for difficult market conditions in Western Europe that have Rüsselsheimer now officially requested state assistance.
Over the next five years, Adam Opel GmbH wants to renew the vehicle range of 11 billion EUR, as Nick Reilly, the new CEO on Tuesday said at the launch of future plan in Frankfurt. By 2014, more than three quarters of all car models should be revised or replaced.
Opel wants to focus on putting money into alternative propulsion systems and clean technologies. Even in the business of commercial vehicles to be invested. Consideration will also market the ability of an entry-level model below the Corsa supermini. In addition, the new Opel is considering management, on the growth markets in the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region to become active.
In parallel with the investment, Adam Opel GmbH announced will start rigorously as the red pencil. The difficult market in Western Europe make it necessary to reduce capacity by about one fifth, Reilly confirmed. To this end, 8300 jobs will be cut, a majority of them in the production and almost half of the four locations in Germany. Employ a total of sister brand Opel and Vauxhall in Europe still 48,000 people.
Opel expects that the major Western European market in 2010 breaks on 13.4 million vehicles. While there sold in 2007 saw a record 17.2 million cars were, the sales fell last year despite government incentives to buy such as Germany’s scrapping of 14.9 million vehicles. A recovery in demand to the level of earlier years are not expected in Rüsselsheim.
With the help of massive investment in new products and markets, and with a strict austerity measures to Opel, despite the difficult market environment as early as next year to reach the breakeven point. 2012, the company will again be profitable. In recent years, were in Rüsselsheim always incurred losses.
In order to maintain business operations during the profound transformation process, Opel need financial support. The financial requirements believes the company at 3.3 billion – approximately 1 billion euros for the restructuring. 2.7 billion EUR hope that the Rüsselsheim of the countries with Opel and Vauxhall sites. The U.S. parent General Motors has already indicated that contributed to 600 million euros. In addition, the Americans paid in the previous month than EUR 650 million upfront fee for development services rendered in Rüsselsheim, with which Opel has been kept liquid. Additional funds from the United States will not flow.
The Opel-recovery plan had been long expected. After taking office, Nick Reilly, the publication had been promised for mid-December. The location of countries had called for such a plan since then, to decide on possible state aid to be able to. On Tuesday morning, the plan was then accompanied by a sustainability report by accountants as well as pass a formal Kredit-/Bürgschaftsantrag to the Federal Government.
Federal Minister of Economics in Berlin, Rainer Brüderle confirmed receipt of the request. According to the FDP politician is the proportion of the German state aid for 1.5 billion to EUR. The funding will mainly come from the so-called Economic Fund of Germany, which was introduced in support of business, fell by the economic crisis in financing constraints. According to Brüderle should flow the remaining 1.2 billion euro from the Opel countries Britain, Poland, Spain and Austria.
The Minister announced that the federal government will evaluate the documents carefully now. From Britain, which operates the sister Opel Vauxhall in Luton and Ellesmere Port plants, was reported similar. First, however, the EU Commission’s plan will take a close look at: This has been agreed, the affected states have already agreed in late 2009 to ensure that there is a site of competition and EU law is respected.
With a view to by the auditors of Warth & Klein viability of Opel’s future plan was certified by chairman Nick Reilly, however, confident about the wooing of state aid. "This plan shows a clear path to sustainable profitability," said the manager. The forthcoming negotiations with the Opel countries about assistance he saw so optimistic. The most recent feedback had been positive.
However, there is no progress in negotiations with the workers about their recovery contributions. After the presentation of the management of Opelaner annually to contribute EUR 265 million in the form of waiving salary restructuring. Since Opel has, however, the counterclaims of workers fails, the dispute escalated last. The last straw had been the intention of the company, the plant in Antwerp, Belgium to close.
On Tuesday, the workers’ side rejected the plans of management from again. The IG Metall union, which has the collective authority at Opel, reiterated that do not support the submitted plan. The union recommended that the German policy of not granting the requested state assistance. According to Opel’s chief Reilly will continue negotiations with employee representatives at European and national level for a while.
Even Prime Minister of Hesse, Roland Koch (CDU), criticized the proposed plan and warned of the Opel parent General Motors (GM), a higher recovery contribution. "After our initial assessment, it will be imperative that GM significantly increased as the owner of his involvement in the reorganization and realignment," said Koch, in whose province the Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim.
Beginning of November, GM had canceled the planned sale of Opel’s most surprising to a consortium led by the Austro-Canadian supplier Magna and announced the Rüsselsheimer tradition Group now wish to modernize on their own too. Thus, the U.S. group had not only attracted the wrath of the workers themselves but also of German policy, which Opel had an emergency loan during the search for investors and the bankruptcy of parent company held financially afloat.
Website: www.opel.de
-By Nico Schmidt, Dow Jones Newswires;
+49 (0) 69 – 297 25 114; nico.schmidt @ dowjones.com
(Beate Preuschoff Katharina Becker in Berlin and Frankfurt have
contributed to this article.)
DJG / ncs / cbr / dok
Tags: asia pacific region, austerity measures, massive investment, volume manufacturers, entry level model