Germany To Plead For US Bailout Of Opel -Report
February 22 2009 - 6:29AM
Dow Jones News
BERLIN (AFP)--Germany's new economy minister Karl-Theodor zu
Guttenberg said in remarks published Sunday he would lobby for
Washington to rescue struggling General Motors Corp.'s (GM)
European unit Opel during a U.S. visit in March.
Zu Guttenberg told Bild am Sonntag newspaper he had established
an informal U.S.-German working group with American Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner and he would use his March visit to hold
more meetings with key officials.
"It is indispensable that General Motors and Opel consider
rapidly... how they want to keep jobs in an economically healthy
way," he said of the two car makers.
Zu Guttenberg's remarks follow those of Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier who appealed for international help for
Opel, which employs 26,000 workers in Germany.
News reports claim the German car manufacturer needs more than
EUR3.3 billion in public loan guarantees - nearly double the figure
previously expected - and that it may go bankrupt if public
assistance is not forthcoming.