GM delays European restructuring plan to January

[December 11, 2009]  FRANKFURT (AP) -- General Motors Co.'s restructuring plan for its Opel and Vauxhall operations likely will be delayed until January, the car maker's top European executive says.

GM Europe chief executive Nick Reilly, who previously pledged to have the plan in place this month, said in a posting on an official blog dated Thursday that "now it looks like an announcement may slip into January."

"This is not a broken promise, it is a pledge to do something right," Reilly wrote.

Reilly said the European restructuring will be one of the largest, most complex industrial reorganizations in years, affecting plants and thousands of people and their families.

"We are determined to do this right. We must do this right. Although we had hoped to have the new business model finalized in December, it appears that more work needs to be done and further consultations will not be rushed," he said.

GM last month abruptly canceled the planned sale of a majority in Opel and Vauxhall to a consortium of Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. and Russian lender Sberbank, instead deciding to restructure the brands itself.

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[Associated Press]

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