FRANKFURT (AFP)--The works committee at General Motors Europe,
the European unit of General Motors Corp. (GM), has called for
demonstrations on Thursday to save jobs at GM's European automakers
Opel, Saab and Vauxhall.
"Workers at Opel/Vauxhall and Saab need a secure and viable
future for their companies," read a pamphlet posted on the Internet
site of the German trade union IG Metall's chapter in the western
German state of Hesse.
That is where the biggest Opel plant and a key research and
development center are located.
The works committee slammed proposed plant closures and layoffs
and called on European countries, car dealers and workers to save
the companies.
U.S. parent General Motors, which is still threatened with
bankruptcy, has announced a broad European restructuring plan that
would eliminate thousands of jobs.
GM has also said it wants to get rid of Saab, which currently
benefits from a Swedish court ruling that has helped it to avoid
going under.
As for Opel, GM is mulling participations or partnerships with
outside investors to keep the company going.
In each case, the U.S. group has appealed to public authorities
in Europe for aid.
At the end of 2007, GM Europe employed more than 55,000 people,
primarily in Belgium, the U.K., Germany, Poland, Spain, and
Sweden.