Berlin - Germany's politicians fumed with anger and Opel workers cancelled cost concessions and readied walkouts after General Motors Co. abandoned the sale of its European subsidiary to parts maker Magna International and Russian lender Sberbank.
Their fear is that restructuring by GM aimed at restoring profitability to its European operations will mean deeper job cuts than Magna was planning.
Klaus Franz, Adam Opel GmbH's top employee representative, called it a "black day" and said workers would start brief work stoppages on Thursday.
GM's decision on Tuesday to abandon the deal was a sharp blow to government and labour officials who supported it as the restructuring option that would save the most jobs in Germany.
The German government had put up a €1.5bn bridge loan to keep Opel afloat as a buyer was sought, and promised €4.5bn in further financing so Magna International Inc. and Sberbank could take a 55% stake.
Magna had said it planned to cut about 10 500 of the 50 000 Opel jobs in Europe, with less than half the job cuts, or around 4 500, in Germany. It also said it would keep all four German plants open.
With the deal now off, German workers face the prospect of a restructuring that is less favorable to them.
The cancellation took the newly elected government by surprise, coming just after Chancellor Angela Merkel left the US after a well-received speech to a joint session of Congress. GM is majority owned by the US government.
'Totally unacceptable'
In Berlin, Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle vowed Wednesday to recover the €1.5bn in bridge financing.
"We will get the taxpayers' money back," he told reporters, adding that GM's move was "totally unacceptable."
GM Europe spokesperson Karin Kirchner said the company was prepared to repay the money. "If we're asked, GM will repay the bridge loan in question," she said.
Kirchner raised the prospect that GM could put Opel through bankruptcy restructuring if unions blocked restructuring. A failure "to reach the needed restructuring would result in the operation becoming insolvent, an unnecessary and undesirable outcome for all involved," she said.
GM's decision also caught the Russian government unawares. Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, called it "astonishing"
The mood was opposite in Britain, where GM Europe builds its Vauxhall brands. British workers had feared the strong German government support for Magna meant they - along with Opel workers in Spain and Belgium - would take the brunt of any restructuring.
Tony Woodley, a former Vauxhall worker and joint leader of the Unite union, called GM's move a "fantastic decision" for the 5 500 workers at the plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton.
"There's no logic in breaking up the company. I believe it is the right decision in spite of a good deal that we'd struck with Magna," he said. "It is the best decision for Britain and our plants. I am absolutely delighted that General Motors have finally done the right thing for them and for us."
Opel was transferred to a trust to keep it out of GM's now-completed bankruptcy restructuring in the US. Initially, GM's board had favored a rival bid by investment firm RHJ International, in part for fear that Magna and Sberbank could create competition for Chevrolet in Russia, a key market.
The offer from RHJ International required less government aid but appeared likely to involve more job cuts in Germany.
Across Germany, where Opel employs some 25 000 people, the anger was palpable.
Juergen Ruettgers, the governor of North-Rhine Westphalia criticized GM's decision and vowed to fight for jobs at the Bochum factory, where Opel produces the Astra and Zafira models.
"After many promises and months of negotiations, the head of GM has left workers out in the cold," Ruettgers said. "This attitude from General Motors shows the ugly face of turbo-capitalism. It is completely unacceptable."
The industrial union IG Metall said workers at Opel's four plants would halt work on Thursday, followed by similar moves Friday at other Opel locations in Europe.
- AP