Following months of speculation and negotiations, General Motors has confirmed it won't be selling its majority stake in Vauxhall/Opel to Canadian parts supplier Magna.
The vehicle manufacturer states that due to "an improving business environment for GM over the past few months, and the importance of Vauxhall/Opel to GM's global strategy", it has decided not to pursue the sale.
GM's board of directors have decided it would be more in their interests
to retain Vauxhall/Opel and rather restructure its European division "in earnest". However, before today's announcement, the German government had offered GM a £4bn loan, subject to the sale of its European arm to Magna.
Fritz Henderson, GM president and chief executive, says: "While strained, the business environment in Europe has improved. At the same time, GM's overall financial health and stability have improved significantly over the past few months, giving us confidence that the European business can be successfully restructured."
There were fears that the sale could result in widespread job cuts and plant closures in Luton and Ellesmere Port, but unions managed to strike a deal with Magna to limits job losses to 600. However, now with the news of a restructure, unions will hold fresh talks with GM executives to safeguard workers' livelihoods.
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