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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| General Motors cancels Opel sale | General Motors cancels Opel sale |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| General Motors (GM) has announced it has cancelled plans to sell its European car business Opel, including its UK brand Vauxhall. | General Motors (GM) has announced it has cancelled plans to sell its European car business Opel, including its UK brand Vauxhall. |
| The US giant said in a statement that its board had made the decision because of "an improving business environment for GM over the past few months". | The US giant said in a statement that its board had made the decision because of "an improving business environment for GM over the past few months". |
| GM had agreed to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Canadian car parts firm Magna. | GM had agreed to sell Opel and Vauxhall to Canadian car parts firm Magna. |
| The Magna deal had the backing of the German government, which had pledged 4.5bn euros ($6.7bn; £4bn) of loans. | The Magna deal had the backing of the German government, which had pledged 4.5bn euros ($6.7bn; £4bn) of loans. |
| GM added that it had also come to its decision because of the importance of Opel and Vauxhall to its global strategy. | GM added that it had also come to its decision because of the importance of Opel and Vauxhall to its global strategy. |
| It said it would now "initiate a restructuring of its European operations in earnest" and seek aid from the German government, and other European states. | It said it would now "initiate a restructuring of its European operations in earnest" and seek aid from the German government, and other European states. |
| However, its decision is likely to cause much anger in Europe, where the planned sale of Opel has been dragging on for months. | However, its decision is likely to cause much anger in Europe, where the planned sale of Opel has been dragging on for months. |
| Changed fortunes | |
| GM first said in March that it wished to offload Opel and Vauxhall, before finally agreeing to sell to Magna in September. | GM first said in March that it wished to offload Opel and Vauxhall, before finally agreeing to sell to Magna in September. |
| See GM production centres in EuropeEnlarge Map | |
| The US giant's decision to sell its main European business was made after it was forced to announce a group-wide loss of $30.9bn for 2008, after its sales plummeted in the global recession. | |
| However, aided by financial support from the US government, and a brief period in US bankruptcy protection in June and July of this year, GM has since managed to turnaround its fortunes. | |
| It is in this context that it now wishes to hold onto Opel and Vauxhall. | |
| Yet the German media is already questioning how easy it will be for GM to simply cancel the sale agreement. | |
| This is because when GM went into administration, ownership of Opel and Vauxhall was transferred to a trust, headed by two representatives of GM, two from the German government and one independent panel member. | |
| German newspapers has speculated whether it is this trust and not GM that will have to make the final decision. | |
| Opel employs a total of 54,000 workers across Europe, with 25,000 based in Germany. | |
| In the UK its Vauxhall brand employs 5,500 people across two plants in Luton and Ellesmere Port. |