No hasty decision on Opel, says minister

02 March 2009

Suffering from a slump in sales, German carmaker Opel is in talks with the country's economy minister about a 3.3 billion euro cash injection from the government. The company, which is owned by troubled US carmaker General Motors, announced last week that it needed the money to avert job losses and plant closures.

Economy minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said on Monday that he would not be rushed into making a decision about state aid. He said the government would carry out "a very far-reaching examination" of Opel's proposals.

"We are dealing with taxpayer money and, therefore, we need sound consideration," he said.

Asked whether the German state would end up taking a stake in Opel, Guttenberg told ARD television, "It would be imprudent if I were to rule something out before I have even heard the details of a concept. I can't do that. These are questions that remain open."

GM Europe proposed last week that Opel should be partly separated from its parent company's US operations, but such a move would require financing that GM is unable to provide.

The US carmaker, which was toppled by Toyota as the world's top-selling car firm earlier this year, is trying to wind down some of its European operations as part of a massive cost-cutting exercise, even as it asks the US government for massive loans to avoid bankruptcy.