General Motors' troubled Opel division will reportedly cut about 1,000 employees from its administrative ranks, a reduction of about 30 percent. The news comes just days after Morgan Stanley suggest that GM should sell the flagging brand.
According to Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung by way of Reuters, Opel will reduce its administrative staff by about a 1,000 through voluntary layoffs. The company outlined further job cuts in its “Drive Opel 2022” 10-year turnaround plan, although nothing indicated a reduction as high as 30 percent.
"We have repeatedly stated that our organizational structure needs to be leaner and more nimble," the company said. "Beyond that we have nothing further to announce."
The German paper reported earlier this year that Opel could cut as many as 2,400 managers from its ranks, including 500 senior managers. Other reports have suggested that Opel might be forced to reduce its total workforce by 30 percent.
Opel has lost $16 billion over the last 12 years, but GM says it has no plans to sell or shut down the division.
