Opel new chief says to shrink capacity up to 25%

• Source: Xinhua
• [10:05 November 21 2009]
• Comments

General Motors Co.'s troubled German carmaker Adam Opel GmbH needs to shrink production capacity across Europe up to 25 percent, the new head of Opel said Friday.

Nick Reilly, GM's head of international operations and temporarily the chief executive of Opel-Vauxhall, said in a corporate blog that he expected to meet next week with European Union representatives and officials from the five countries where Opel has factories to talk about the upcoming restructuring.

"What is clear is this: Opel/Vauxhall must reduce its capacity across Europe by somewhere between 20 and 25 percent. We are still finalizing the details on the plan," he said.

GM announced this month that it would keep Opel, in an unexpected reversal of its earlier decision to sell a controlling stake in the German carmaker to Magna, a Canadian car part manufacturer, and Sberbank, a Russian company.

GM has said Opel needs to shed some 10,000 jobs, or 20 percent of its work force.