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Berlin says Opel bailout decision to take weeks

Reportedly furious over a half-baked rescue plan from carmaker Opel, the German government on Friday said any decision for a state bailout could take weeks. But has GM already given Opel patents to the US Treasury Department as collateral?

Published: 6 March 2009 15:12 CET

Berlin says Opel bailout decision to take weeks

Economy Minister Guttenberg and head of GM Europe Forster. Photo: DPA

Following a meeting with Opel’s management in the Chancellery, German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said Berlin would not sign off on billions of euros in aid without more information.

“There are still many questions that have to be answered,” said Guttenberg after talks with the head of GM Europe Carl-Peter Forster. “We agreed that we’re now talking about a process that will take weeks.”

The government is reportedly irked with Opel for demanding a bailout but not presenting a solid rescue plan. Officials slammed the carmaker’s proposals as “disastrous” and “totally insufficient,” daily Bild reported on Friday.

“What Opel has presented is outrageous,” an unnamed official told the paper. “The state won’t give one single cent for that.”

Bild said officials in Berlin were particularly miffed by the news that Opel’s beleaguered US parent General Motors had already given the German unit’s patents to the US Treasury Department as partial collateral for a massive aid package from Washington.

Adding to the government’s annoyance, the 217-page bailout proposal is mostly in English and lacking a viable business model for Opel. The paper reported that it is also full of glossy car advertisement photos and sales slogans.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble became the highest-ranking German official to openly ponder Opel’s impending bankruptcy.

“Our modern insolvency laws are intended to preserve economic value and not destroy it,” he told the Friday edition of business daily Handelsblatt. “We have to realise that to survive such a crisis modern insolvency law is a better option than having the state take a stake.”

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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