Opel Works Council Chairman Praises GM Vice-president

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug sees Opel on the way to recovery. The Opel works council chairman praises the measures taken by GM Vice-President Stephen Girsky.

Despite the sales crisis and the turbulence at the top of the company, Opel General Works Council Chairman Wolfgang Schäfer-Klug sees the loss-making automaker on the right track. After the major restructuring of the top management, Opel now has a management team that “knows that things can no longer go on as before. And it's strong management; We haven't had that for years,”Schäfer-Klug told the Mainzer Allgemeine Zeitung.

New management culture at Opel

In his words, there is by no means wild confusion at Opel: “This is nonsense. There is no chaos at Opel. There has never been so much planning as now. Schäfer-Klug sees the key to change in a new management culture characterized by “truth, clarity and predictability” that Opel supervisory board chairman and GM vice-president Steve Girsky have brought into the company.

With Girsky, Opel got “a strong voice” at GM. Under his leadership, "measures that we have been calling for since 2010 would finally be tackled," said Schäfer-Klug, with a view to reducing bureaucracy and significantly streamlining upper and middle management. «We lost so many Indians and got more and more chiefs. Now the management issue is finally being tackled,”says Schäfer-Klug.

He also countered speculation that the Eisenach plant was also on the cross-off list. "There is no evidence that such an intention exists." However, there is a "high probability" that the number of temporary workers in the company will be reduced. (dpa)