GM Lies to Europe

Published in La Tribune
(France) on 26 November 2009
by Odile Esposito (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Drue Fergison. Edited by Alex Brewer.
General Motors has decidedly not finished playing with Europeans’ nerves. The American car manufacturer provoked astonishment and indignation at the beginning of November by declining to cede its European brands to Magna. The Austro-Canadian equipment manufacturer had worked for months on this takeover project; had negotiated hand in hand with each of the countries housing an Opel or Vauxhall site; and, finally, established a plan, very painfully, but doubtless indispensable in order to refloat the European brand. Little by little, spirits had accustomed themselves to this future purge.

By choosing to keep Opel, GM could have kept this exact plan. All the more so because, like Magna, it thought 9,000 jobs needed to be cut and that there is 20 percent unutilized capacity in Old Europe. But instead, GM preferred to lay off its 50,000 European workers. The cuts will be severe, especially in Germany and Belgium. But GM continues to remain vague on the details.

What’s worse, for a week now, it has not ceased complimenting the performance of sites that will doubtless be affected. “You are tremendous and indispensable,” explained Nick Reilly, the new head of GM Europe, to the German workers in Bochum and Eisenach, the Spanish in Saragossa and the British in Luton. This makes it harder to accept the coming sacrifices. Is GM indecisive? Opportunistic, rather. The American car manufacturer has understood that it will have difficulty returning to the company of worldwide automobile giants if it definitively deprives itself of its European base.

But, GM also knows that its still shaky health will not allow it to finance the 3.3 billion Euros necessary for the restoration of Opel. Thus, it plays the seduction game in order to convince the states to ante up. Free to later pass for a liar.


General Motors n'en finit décidément pas de jouer avec les nerfs des Européens. Le constructeur américain avait provoqué stupeur et indignation début novembre en renonçant à céder ses marques européennes à Magna. Pourtant, l'équipementier austro-canadien avait travaillé des mois à ce projet de reprise ; négocié pied à pied avec chacun des pays abritant un site Opel ou Vauxhall ; et finalement établi un plan, très douloureux socialement, mais indispensable sans doute pour remettre à flot la marque européenne. Les esprits, peu à peu, s'étaient habitués à cette purge future.

En choisissant de garder Opel, GM aurait pu reprendre ce plan à l'identique. D'autant que, comme Magna, il chiffre à 9.000 le nombre d'emplois à supprimer et à 20% ses surcapacités de production sur le Vieux Continent. Mais il a préféré remettre sur le gril ses 50.000 salariés européens. Les coupes seront sévères, notamment en Allemagne et en Belgique. Mais GM continue d'entretenir le flou sur les détails.

Pire, il n'a cessé, depuis une semaine, de complimenter sur leurs performances des sites qui seront sans doute touchés. "Vous êtes formidables et indispensables", a expliqué en substance Nick Reilly, le nouveau patron de GM Europe, aux salariés allemands de Bochum ou d'Eisenach, aux Espagnols de Saragosse ou aux Britanniques de Luton. Rendant plus difficiles à accepter les sacrifices à venir. Indécis GM ? Opportuniste, plutôt. Le constructeur américain a compris qu'il aurait du mal à revenir parmi les géants mondiaux de l'automobile s'il se privait définitivement de sa base européenne.

Mais il sait aussi que sa santé encore chancelante ne lui permet pas de financer les 3,3 milliards d'euros nécessaires à la remise en état d'Opel. Alors il joue la séduction pour convaincre les États de mettre au pot. Quitte à passer plus tard pour un menteur.
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