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Berlin - German carmaker Opel, a unit of troubled US giant General Motors, said on Friday it has asked Berlin and regional states for credit guarantees to ensure its financing.
The request follows a GM announcement that, in the wake of global market turmoil and the crisis in the US automobile sector, it would be seeking help in countries where it has major operations.
European data on Friday showed a plunge in new car sales in October.
"The aim of the current discussions is to make preparations for guaranteeing further loans because the global financial situation of our parent company General Motors has worsened," supervisory board chairman Klaus Franz said in a statement, echoing comments earlier by company chief Hans Demant to the business daily Handelsblatt.
"We want to ensure Opel's future in Europe but also jobs, which is why we have the full support of our employees."
The statement said that Opel had spoken with the German federal government as well as the states where the company has plants - Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia - about loan guarantees.
"They would be necessary if the economic situation at GM worsened with direct consequences for the core business activities of Adam Opel GmbH," it said.
An economy ministry spokesperson said it would wait to see a specific figure from Opel on the amount it was seeking in guarantees and then talk with representatives from the local states.
- AFP