Opel should lose its heart – business

• Opel may soon be without its own development and testing center
• Part of the development could be transferred to an external service provider
• As disclosed by secret documents available at ] Süddeutsche Zeitung the engineering firms Altran, Akka and Segula from France and Bertrandt from Germany are considered as interested parties

By Thomas Fromm Max Hägler ] Munich, and Leo Klimm ] Paris

Day and night they had negotiated the future of Opel in the fall of 2009. The American mother General Motors (GM) and the Austrian-Canadian supplier Magna. And in fact, the case was clear: GM wanted to sell the automaker heavily beaten, Magna wanted it. The Federal Government and the Opel Business Committee have favored Magna as a buyer. Berlin even promised billions to the Austrians

Everything seemed better than GM

The essential thing is to get away from the Americans. But then came a dramatic Volte: GM declared the sale of Opel overnight. At GM's headquarters in Detroit, they had finally realized that they belonged to Opel and the Rüsselsheim development center. And it is here that are developed not only Opel models, but also all mid-range GM cars, such as the Chevy Volt electric car. The development center with its nearly 8,000 employees was therefore not only the heart of Opel. It was also an important part of GM.

"This is proof that PSA boss Carlos Tavares only wants the brand"

In 2017 GM Opel suddenly sold – fast and painless. For 1.3 billion euros, the German automaker went to the French car manufacturer PSA (Peugeot, Citroën) – included development center. And now, in 2018, the heart of Opel is gone: parts of the International Research and Development Center (ITEZ) could be pbaded on to an external provider, first reported the French Journal The World . As can be seen from the secret documents made available to Süddeutsche Zeitung Altran, Akka and Segula de France and Bertrandt of Germany are considered as interested parties. Will Opel, the eternal crisis society that has lost billions for many years, no longer have its own development and testing center? What is left when the heart is gone?

"This is the proof that the PSA boss, Carlos Tavares, only wants the name of the brand," says an insider. ; Opel. After this restructuring, Opel "would no longer be an independent car manufacturer". End of a car manufacturer? "Opel is becoming a PSA sales department," says Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, automotive expert of the CAR Institute of the University of Duisburg-Essen. The recent history of Opel is a story of job cuts and plant closings, perverted rumors, abrupt changes of managers, major half-life announcements, more big failures – and a story of deception. and disappointments.

So good this time. It has been discussed with IG Metall and the company committee "regularly and already since December 2017" that strategic partnerships in research and development would be explored, says the boss of Opel Michael Lohscheller with challenge. But the general business committee does not react Wednesday as if many things had been discussed with him. We would not accept a sale and therefore an "attack at the heart of the Opel brand and the job at ITEZ without a fight". Concrete sales intentions for parts of the development center? This has never been mentioned. So, PSA and Opel have "knowingly told the untruth"?

It is only recently that the company has announced its intention to expand its research and development center. The seats or manual switching systems should come from the Rüsselsheim total PSA group. Opel will play "an even greater role in PSA Group's overall research and development work," promised Lohscheller. Also Wednesday, it was said: The Rüsselsheim center will "develop all Opel models"; However, the orders of the ex-GM mother would come back.

But then you have to disbademble and sell the development center right away? The heart on which even the less sentimental GM directors hung?

The heart should come out – and how much it still beats hard, meanwhile, presentations are already circulating among investment bank negotiators. One of the articles shows: Already in September of last year – shortly after Opel 's purchase by PSA – surveys began at the engineering service providers. The possible date of signing the contract is December 2018. It involves parts with just under 4000 employees and a sales potential of between 750 million and one billion euros. Background of the operation: The department has an overcapacity of about 40%. The ideal partner, it is said, has a long-term vision and "a convincing concept for employees". That's what PSA and Opel have apparently missed – otherwise you are not looking for a buyer. The problem, he continues: Opel engineers are not competitive at first sight. They are "old", protected by collective agreements and "expensive".

The ideal partner, it is said, has a long-term vision and "a convincing concept for employees"

Cardiac surgery would be consistent with the Boss Tavares PSA style. Already as a member of Renault's board of directors, he led the outsourcing not only of industrial components, but also of development activities: from the concept of a new model to the supervision of its production, Tavares entrusted the tasks to external providers. At PSA, where Tavares has been leading since 2014, the cost-killer also defines the core business that should be done internally. Outsource, sell, save money. Outsourcing gave impetus to a development center of about 1,500 employees, operated by Altran's service provider in Morocco. Hundreds of PSA computer scientists had to turn to the computer consultant Capgemini. Whole PSA test tracks and staff went to Segula.

"The situation in Rüsselsheim is more dramatic," said a PSA spokesman. "It's about finding replacements for jobs that just disappear."

It is no coincidence that the two French companies Altran and Segula, in addition to the Swabian service provider Bertrandt, present themselves as potential buyers for the Opel development center. Rüsselsheim goes. France, which is at the heart of outsourced engineering services, is nowhere more specialized.

But nothing is decided yet. "Compared to the French, Americans were gentlemen," says Opel workers. And that says something.