European head of General Motors quits

Nov 6, 2009, 11:50 GMT

Ruesselsheim, Germany - The European head of General Motors (GM), Carl-Peter Forster, is quitting after GM's surprise U-turn over European subsidiary Opel, company sources told German Press Agency dpa on Friday.

Forster, 55, had been highly critical of GM's last-minute decision not to sell Opel to Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna and their Russian backer, state-owned Sberbank.

'We had negotiated a good restructuring plan,' Forster told German daily Bild said after Detroit decided to cancel the deal. 'Now we run the risk that the sensible division of burden is unravelled again, and everything begins from scratch.'

Forster had been billed as the head of 'NewOpel' if the deal had gone ahead. His exceptionally fierce criticism of GM's change of heart triggered speculation that he would leave the company.

Forster's successor may be US-based manager Nick Reilly, according to German Spiegel Online news website. Reilly, who looks after GM's Asian operations as well as the Chevrolet brand, is to restructure Opel, according to the report.

Current Opel chief Hans Demant is also to quit his post, dpa learned.

Forster led Opel from 2001 to 2004, before rising to the helm of GM Europe, based in Zurich, Switzerland. His departure has not been confirmed by GM, which is due to initiate conversations with all parties in coming days.

The German government was also waiting to hear GM's plans for Opel before planning its next moves, a government spokesman said.