GM still wants state aid for Opel restructuring

By Christiaan Hetzner and Angelika Gruber

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - General Motors GM.UL reaffirmed on Friday it wants state aid to help overhaul European arm Opel after a newspaper quoted GM's chairman as saying the U.S. carmaker will not ask German taxpayers for help.

The topic is politically sensitive since GM this month reversed a decision to sell a majority stake in Opel to a consortium led by Canada's Magna (MGa.TO), a deal backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel's German government.

Separately, Merkel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper she expected GM to remember the role Germany played in saving Opel from insolvency in June when Detroit decides which Opel jobs to cut in Europe.

Half of Opel's 50,000 staff work in Germany.

"The restructuring of Opel for long-term sustainability requires involvement and financial support from all stakeholders, including employees and governments," GM Europe said on Friday.

"We remain in discussions with governments to engage our plan in the same way they were willing to do with the Magna proposals to provide the best possible footing for Opel/Vauxhall success."

Britain, Spain, Belgium and Poland also host Opel plants.

JOB CUTS