Will General Motors retain ownership of Opel and Vauxhall?
Despite the fact that General Motors Europe has been under pressure to dispose of a number of operations, with the US parent company having been rescued by the US government in exchange for ditching their European operations, the picture is still clouded. Talks have been ongoing for some months now with the German government, because the German operation is by far and away the largest of the GM Europe operations, although the UK government has been very hands-on, in public at least.
It now appears that GM Europe is starting to play hardball after demanding significant concessions from the German government and a deadline for a deal, with two potential investors in the pipeline, looks set to pass. Whether GM Europe is just increasing the pressure on the German government or actually believes it can retain ownership and run the business from a sound financial base remains to be seen.
Despite the fact that Vauxhall employs thousands of UK workers the UK government, while officially in the loop, has to a great extent been pushed out of the picture. This will not impress Lord Mandelson who has been very vocal over the last few weeks regarding his support for Vauxhall even if the UK government has yet to come forward with any hard cash.
Share this..
Related stories
JJB Sports confirms company is not under investigation
While results from the JJB Sports were disappointing to say the least with a loss of over £40 million in the first six months of 2009, the company has confirmed that while the serious fraud office (SFO) is undertaking an investigation into the activities of JJB and Sports Direct, it is specific JJB employees which are being investigated rather than the company as a whole. This is small consolatio...
Read MoreCrude oil price falls but petrol fails to follow
The price of oil has fallen below $60 a barrel today amid concerns about the state of the worldwide economy and the potential for a further setback in the short to medium term. While many believe that the short-term speculators, who had been blamed for the recent spike in the price of oil, have now left the market for the time being, there is still significant concern as to why the price of petrol...
Read MoreIs Sir Fred Goodwin plotting a return?
While ex-Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin has been banished to France since his pension scandal hit the headlines there is a feeling that he is trying to clear the path for a way back into the UK business arena. While he has been ridiculed and abused across the media because of his pension, a pension which was offered to him by the UK government, he is still well known as on...
Read MoreBritish Airways set to charge for seat reservations
In a move which many believe had been on the way for some time, British Airways has announced plans to charge customers up to £60 to reserve a seat. It is no secret that British Airways has been struggling with regards to the price of oil, reduced business levels and increased costs. Over the last few months we have seen a number of job cuts, staff encouraged to give "free time" to the business a...
Read MoreRetail Sales Collapse In June
Just when many analysts had come to terms with the 3.5% rise in retail sales in May and the fact this did not seem correct, June has seen a fall of 3.9% in sales - the worst fall in 22 years. The move has more than wiped out May's surprise jump and brings the annual growth rate down to 2.2%. So what is happening?
While it would be foolish to sound the alarm bells after one month's...