GM CEO Henderson in Germany discussing Opel future

The chief executive of General Motors Co. met with leaders of its Opel unit on Monday to discuss the German automaker's future, a week after GM abruptly decided to keep it instead of selling a majority stake to a consortium of investors.

Fritz Henderson wanted to get a firsthand look at the situation at Adam Opel GmbH's Ruesselsheim headquarters, just west of Frankfurt, said Opel spokesman Ulrich Weber.

Weber gave no details except to say that Henderson was to stay through Tuesday and meet with the company's works council. Henderson was accompanied by Nick Reilly, the director of GM's international operations.

GM decided last week to keep Opel and its U.K. based sister brand Vauxhall, instead of selling a majority stake to a consortium of Canadian car parts maker Magna International Inc. and Russian lender Sberbank, a move that was widely anticipated and backed by the German government and Opel workers.

The announcement not to sell was followed by GM saying Friday that its European boss Carl-Peter Forster would leave the company.

German weekly Manager Magazine on Monday reported that Forster would become the chief executive of Tata Motors of India. Tata did not return repeated calls seeking comment.

Opel employees and the German government are especially anxious to hear what GM's plans are for the company. General Motors employs some 50,000 in Europe, the bulk of which are in Germany. The German government had backed the Magna plan financially because it foresaw the least job cuts.

It is not clear who will lead the "New Opel," though reports indicate Magna manager Herbert Demel could have a good chance at the new chief executive post.

German Economic Minister Rainer Bruederle told ZDF Television Sunday that it was uncertain whether GM could deliver a sustainable concept for the European operations in the short term.

"I'm also very skeptical whether the company (GM), which handled this so badly, has new ideas overnight."

Bruederle also said there was no guarantee that GM would get any help from the German government for its restructuring.

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