Opel workers protest with walkout

Opel workers demonstrate with a mock coffin and a banner, reading GM get away, next to the Adam-Opel sculpture at the main plant of carmaker Opel in Ruesselsheim, western Germany, on November 5, 2009, during a protest one day after General Motors' shock refusal to sell its European unit Opel and plan to cut some 10,000 jobs.

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Opel employees walked off their jobs to attend a mass rally at the auto maker's headquarters Thursday, protesting General Motors Co.'s decision to abandon the unit's sale to Magna International Inc. , which the workers had hoped would preserve jobs.

Thousands of the 25,000 employees from Opel's four German factories vented their frustration and anger at GM, which after months of negotiations decided Tuesday to scrap the sale of a majority in Opel to the Canadian auto parts maker and its Russian partner, lender Sberbank.

“Our trust (in GM) is now zero, and that is the heart of the problem," Klaus Franz, the head of Opel's employee council, told thousands of workers in Ruesselsheim, winning applause.

Franz called on GM to come up with a viable plan for the automaker. “We are starting over again from zero," he said.

GM's move has been heavily criticized by German politicians, who had given strong backing to the Magna deal. The employees fear GM's decision to restructure Adam Opel GmbH on its own could result in bigger layoffs and job cuts.

John Smith, GM's chief negotiator for the sale of Opel, said in a conference call Wednesday that GM's plan was similar but not identical to that presented by Magna and Sberbank, which had called for the elimination of 10,500 European jobs or about 20 per cent of the work force.

Mr. Smith did not elaborate on possible job losses.