GM may sell Saab, Opel stake

General Motors Corp., facing the biggest crisis in its 100-year history, may sell a stake in its German carmaker Adam Opel and could abandon its sporty Swedish brand Saab in an effort to slash costs abroad as well as at home.

GM's European division and the top representative of its European employees issued a joint statement Wednesday saying they were looking for ways to reduce costs further without resorting to firings and plant closings.

The automaker is seeking $1.2 billion in labor cost savings, on top of existing measures, including a wage freeze, GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster said.

"Management is willing to consider strategic third-party partnerships, alliances and equity stakes in case such an approach is seen as beneficial for GM Europe and Opel's viable and sustainable future," Forster said.

His comments underscored the global nature of GM's latest restructuring effort, outlined Tuesday in a plan submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department under the terms of a loan agreement.

GM said 26,000 of the 47,000 jobs it plans to eliminate are in its foreign operations, and executives singled out Europe as requiring urgent action.

In spite of deep restructurings and an attractive lineup of cars, including the new Opel Insignia sedan, the German carmaker struggles to make money, while Saab has lost money during most of its 19 years as a GM affiliate. (GM bought 50 percent of Saab in 1990 and the rest in 2000.)

In the latest figures available, GM said GM Europe lost $1 billion in the third quarter of 2008. Detroit News