GM’S EUROPEAN arm could run out of money as soon as next month, threatening the closure of at least three plants and putting up to 300,000 jobs on the Continent at risk, the carmaker has warned.
Fritz Henderson, the struggling Detroit carmaker’s chief operating officer, said GM would face a liquidity crunch “early in the second quarter” if emergency funds from European governments did not materialise.
“We would try to stay alive but there’s no guarantee we could stay alive,” he said yesterday.
Drawing a link between its call for aid and possible factory closures, GM estimated its excess capacity on the Continent at 30 per cent, meaning three of its 10 European plants were no longer needed. GM has asked Germany for €3.3 billion in aid in exchange for shares in its European arm, which it wants to spin off as a semi-independent entity.
It has also asked the UK and Spain for aid, and plans to contact others, Mr Henderson said.
Carl-Peter Forster, GM Europe’s president, called for a “shared burden” among European countries hosting its car factories, which also include Belgium, Poland and Sweden.
GM’s call for help has been received sceptically by Germany’s government. In Spain, the state government of Aragon has pledged €200 million in aid. – (Financial Times service)
