Written by Minjune Kim
DETROIT — The head of European operations for General Motors quit on Friday after the automaker backed out of a deal to sell its Opel brand, a decision that has angered German workers and government officials.
The executive, Carl-Peter Forster, was expected to run Opel after a majority stake was transferred to the Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International and the Russian bank Sberbank.
Mr. Forster had been outspoken in his support of the sale and this week criticized G.M.’s handling of the deal, the result of talks that started in the spring as the company spiraled toward its June 1 bankruptcy filing. The aborted deal also included G.M.’s British brand, Vauxhall.
Robert A. Lutz, G.M.’s marketing chief and a member of Opel’s supervisory board, will become Opel’s interim chairman while G.M. searches for a new chief executive, a person with direct knowledge of those plans said. Mr. Lutz, 77, who delayed previous plans to retire this year, will retain his current duties.
The executive, Carl-Peter Forster, was expected to run Opel after a majority stake was transferred to the Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International and the Russian bank Sberbank.
Mr. Forster had been outspoken in his support of the sale and this week criticized G.M.’s handling of the deal, the result of talks that started in the spring as the company spiraled toward its June 1 bankruptcy filing. The aborted deal also included G.M.’s British brand, Vauxhall.
Robert A. Lutz, G.M.’s marketing chief and a member of Opel’s supervisory board, will become Opel’s interim chairman while G.M. searches for a new chief executive, a person with direct knowledge of those plans said. Mr. Lutz, 77, who delayed previous plans to retire this year, will retain his current duties.
GM now intends to keep Opel and its sister brand Vauxhall, but needs to update its restructuring plan in order to win financing for the move from Germany, the U.K., Poland and Spain. GM said Tuesday it needs €3 billion ($4.45 billion) in government financing, but in recent days has indicated it may have other ways to help fund a restructuring, including using its own liquidity.
Mr. Forster, an opponent of the board's decision to keep Opel, will be replaced for now by GM marketing chief Robert A. Lutz, who will be head of the Opel supervisory board but not GM Europe CEO.
Mr. Forster, an opponent of the board's decision to keep Opel, will be replaced for now by GM marketing chief Robert A. Lutz, who will be head of the Opel supervisory board but not GM Europe CEO.
In Germany, tensions are running high over GM’s decision not to go through with a deal that would have given Magna and Russian bank Sberbank majority control of Opel, a deal favored by European labor unions and German politicians.
Thousands of Opel employees walked off the job on Thursday to protest the decision.
“Our trust (in GM) is now zero, and that is the heart of the problem,” the Associated Press quoted Klaus Franz, the head of Opel’s employee council, telling thousands of workers in Ruesselsheim.
Thousands of Opel employees walked off the job on Thursday to protest the decision.
“Our trust (in GM) is now zero, and that is the heart of the problem,” the Associated Press quoted Klaus Franz, the head of Opel’s employee council, telling thousands of workers in Ruesselsheim.
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