GM calls for help in Europe

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} General Motors has warned its European business units could run out of money within a matter of weeks, putting 300,000 workersÔÇÖ jobs at risk, unless European governments provide direct assistance.   GM Europe includes Vauxhall in the UK and Opel in Germany, both of which could be partially spun off, with GM keeping a minority stake, if alternative investors can be found. GM is seeking to dispose entirely of its other European business unit, the Swedish automaker, Saab.   Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show, where GM is showing a number of new vehicles, Fritz Henderson, chief operating officer of GM Europe, called for Ôé¼3.3 billion ($4.2 billion) to split Vauxhall and Opel into two separate divisions which could then be opened up for investment.   The chief executive of GM Europe, Carl-Peter Forster, is also in Geneva, having arrived on a budget airline flight from Berlin on Monday after talks with the German government.   But German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck commented after that meeting that he had yet to be convinced that Opel had a "sustainable future", which was a precondition for state aid.   Both the UK and Swedish governments have taken a similar approach to requests for direct assistance to save Vauxhall and Saab, the GM units operating in their countries.   HendersonÔÇÖs statement on Tuesday seems an attempt to force their hands, claiming that Saab will go into bankruptcy if its restructuring efforts do not succeed, and telling the UK government that it cannot expect Germany to bale out Vauxhall/Opel on its own.   Henderson also urged Opel, Vauxhall and Saab employees "to make shared sacrifices" to save their jobs.   GM's problems in Europe come at a time when its model line-up is receiving widespread praise. The Insignia was voted Car of the Year 2009, and the Ampera, the European version of the hybrid Chevrolet Volt, has been unveiled in Geneva.   *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *