GM Latam units are stumbling block in Fiat talks: report

LONDON (Reuters) - Fiat SpA's (FIA.MI) talks with General Motors Corp GM.N about creating a car supergroup including Opel/Vauxhall, Saab and Chrysler have hit obstacles over the issue of GM's Latin American operations, the Financial Times reported in its Thursday edition.

Citing two people briefed on the discussions, the paper said Fiat wants to gain control of GM's profitable South American division, which includes Africa and the Middle East, unlike other possible bidders for Opel/Vauxhall.

However it said GM was reluctant to part with one of its most profitable operations.

A GM spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson declined to comment earlier this week when asked about the automaker's talks with Fiat.

In another setback to the bid by Fiat to create a major transatlantic carmaker, Opel's union boss Klaus Franz warned a tie-up with the Italian company could lead to a loss of up to 18,000 jobs, the FT reported.

Franz added: "I am critical regarding this merger," according to the website.

Earlier Enzo Masini, an official with Italy's FIOM-CGIL union who participated in a union meeting relating to the possible acquisition, said Italian and German union leaders had agreed to adopt a common position rejecting the idea of closing any plants in Europe.

"No plant must close," Masini told Reuters by phone after the meeting. "We are ready to take coordinated action.

(Reporting by David Holmes; editing by Carol Bishopric)