GM wants deeper cuts at Opel

General Motors wants deeper cuts at its European subsidiary Opel after what are expected to be "horrendous" fourth quarter results, the Wall Street Journal said Wednesday, quoting a GM official. "There is increasing frustration with Opel and a feeling that the cuts two years ago did not go nearly deep enough," it quoted the official as saying. "If Opel is going to get fixed, it is going to get fixed now and cuts are going to be deep." German labor unions have demanded the company stick to a restructuring plan announced in 2009 that called for cutting some 8,000 jobs out of 48,000 in Europe and closing a factory in Antwerp, Belgium. But the Journal said GM is now discussing the closure of a factory in Bochum, Germany, where it employs about 3,100 workers, and another at Ellesmere Port, England, where it has some 2,100. The US auto giant faces tough negotiations with the unions, however, which are likely to oppose such measures. Opel is at the heart of GM's European operations, which have lost more than $14.5 billion over the past decade despite efforts at restructuring.