Labor chiefs at Opel's plant in Bochum issued a declaration on Tuesday rejecting any plans to close it. They pointed out that Bochum is the only site that produces the Zafira compact and argued that it should be considered by the management as a contender for the planned production of 40,000 Chevrolet Orlando vehicles.

Bochum boasts the second biggest Opel plant, with an output of 160,000 units annually. But together with Vauxhall site at Ellesmore Part in Britain, it appears most at risk as GM's European division continues to be a huge loss-making operation.

Workers signaled they would put up a fight to rescue the Bochum plant, with the local works council warning that the closure of the facility would become by far the most costly yet for GM. Labor chiefs insisted that a closure would only be accepted if those affected got socially acceptable deals.

Far-reaching repercussions

"Opel is a major employer in the region and bears great importance for the state economy's structural change," said Jörg Bogumil, a political scientist at the Bochum University.

Shutting down the plant, which was founded 50 years ago this year, would jeopardize altogether 45,000 jobs, both in the facility itself and among regional partners and suppliers.

Union representatives said that, as Opel's parent company, GM should finally reconsider its current policy of barring its European division from selling vehicles outside the continent.

Opel has been facing increasing difficulties in increasing sales in Europe. Sales in southern Europe, which has been hardest hit by the eurozone debt crisis, have fallen drastically.

hg/mll (Reuters, dpa)