Plan rejected

In an interview published on Wednesday in the German daily Frankfurter Rundschau, Franz said the company could not accept more job losses. GM has said it plans to cut around 8,300 jobs from Opel's 50,000-strong European workforce.

"As far as we are concerned, the loss of 9,000 jobs in Europe is unacceptable," Franz said.

He added that the job cuts were "economic nonsense," and that Opel would already be losing about 10,500 jobs by 2013 through voluntary departures and retirements.

More support needed from GM

Franz maintained his position that GM needs to provide more financial support for Opel's restructuring. The American parent company estimates that the restructuring will cost around 3.2 billion euros ($4.6 billion) and has asked European Union countries with Opel facilities to help foot the bill.

However, GM itself only plans to contribute 600 million euros. "That will not be enough for the politicians," Franz said.

Opel has already lost an estimated 800 million euros due to prolonged restructuring plans.

'Cash-for-clunkers' plan helped Opel sales

Despite the money lost due to restructuring, Opel announced Tuesday that its sales in Germany for 2009 increased by 31 percent compared to 2008. This is largely due to the German government's cash-for-clunkers program, which encouraged potential car buyers to trade in their older vehicles for more fuel efficient newer cars.

The company said 339,000 vehicles were sold this year, making 2009 Opel's best year for sales since 2005.

Opel and its British sister brand Vauxhall experienced a great deal of uncertainty this year. GM was set to sell the European operations to Canadian auto parts group Magna International and its Russian partner Sberbank, but later backed out on the deal.

Negotiations on Opel's restructuring are to continue next month.

mk/AFP/dpa
Editor: Chuck Penfold