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| General Motors is suffering from weaker
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US car giant General Motors (GM) has said it is to shed 12,000 jobs in
Europe as part of a cost-cutting drive.
GM's German operations - which include car firm Opel
- are expected to bear the brunt
of the losses.
The job cuts, 90% of which will take effect next year, are part
of an austerity programme designed to cut costs by 500m euros.
The lay-offs account for nearly one fifth of the company's
63,000-strong European workforce.
GM hopes the job cuts will help turn around its loss-making European
division, which also includes Swedish car firm Saab and Vauxhall in the
UK.
Detroit-based GM on Thursday said group profits rose to $440m in the
three months to September, up slightly from $425m during the same period
last year.
But the company cut its profits target for the full year, partly
because of rising losses in Europe.
GM Europe, which has not made a profit for four years, lost $161m in
the first half of 2004, up from $68m one year earlier, according to the
latest figures.
GM said in a statement that its European restructuring plan "provides
for the majority of the cuts to be in Germany, with a heavy emphasis on
managing and engineering".
But it is not yet clear precisely which of the firm's 11 European
manufacturing sites will be affected.
A spokesman for GM Europe said the company was still discussing the details
of the plan with staff representatives, and that an agreement was expected by the end
of November.
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2004-10-15 10:23