Germany takes brunt of Opel job cuts

By Angelika Gruber and Johan Sennero

RUESSELSHEIM/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - General Motors targeted Germany on Wednesday for the bulk of 9,000 planned job cuts at European arm Opel, turning the tables on the country that lobbied hardest for an Opel sale to Canada's Magna.

At the same, the U.S. automaker cast around for fresh options for Sweden's loss-making Saab after the collapse of its sale to luxury carmaker Koenigsegg added a new dimension to its tortuous European restructuring plans.

GM this month backtracked on months of talks to sell a majority stake in Opel to a Russian-backed group led by Magna International, opting to revamp the business itself in a 3.3 billion euro (3 billion pound) overhaul that needs state aid.

Acting GM Europe head Nick Reilly said 50-60 percent of the proposed job cuts in Opel had been earmarked for Germany.

He said he hoped to wrap up details -- including the "uncertain" future of the Belgian plant in Antwerp -- during talks with labour leaders that he said were unaffected by the turmoil surrounding Saab.

Opel's top union boss, Klaus Franz, accused GM of sacrificing German jobs by shifting production of the Astra Caravan model to Britain's Ellesmere Port plant to secure UK state aid.

He also urged GM to expand the model range and powertrain options and export Opels as a way of saving jobs preventing GM from draining funds from Opel to Detroit.

Reilly said he was optimistic about prospects for getting both labour concessions as well as state aid from countries with Opel plants, which also include Britain, Spain and Poland.