Germany tells GM to go it alone

Germany has told General Motors it will have to come up with the money to refinance Opel, after the US carmaker cancelled the sale of its European arm.

Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle told GM executives that they had to be responsible for restructuring the unit.

Germany had previously offered 4.5bn euros ($6.7bn; £4.1bn) to support Opel and protect German jobs if the company was sold to car parts maker Magna.

On cancelling the sale last week, GM said it would still seek state aid.

The German minister’s comments now raise question marks over whether GM will get it.

“I expressed my expectation that General Motors should basically carry out the financing itself,” Mr Bruederle said.

Source: BBC News