And Opel Astra Sports Tourer, being built at Britain's Vauxhall

Open plant: Starting in 2015, British GM workers will build the

car – at the expense of their German GM counterparts.

GM Succeeds in Pitting European Workers Against One Another (Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany)

“For Opel workers in Germany, this is a dire warning: Your own parent company General Motors has successfully pitted you against your counterparts in Great Britain. … Not the best workers - but the cheapest - were the ones that won the bid. The GM Group is pursuing internal wage-dumping. … In GM's world, it is every man for himself.”

By Thomas Fromm

Translated By Jonathan Lobsien

May 18, 2012

Germany - Sueddeutsche Zeitung - Original Article (German)

All Opel’s management could do was announce the decision. Starting in 2015, the Astra, the car manufacturer’s bread-and-butter, will be built in Britain and Poland -- and not at headquarters in Rüsselsheim.

For Opel workers in Germany, this is a dire warning: Your own parent company General Motors has successfully pitted you against your counterparts in Great Britain.

For weeks, executives in Detroit have been debating various locations. In the end, it was from their British colleagues that the company was able to wrest the biggest pay cuts. Ninety four percent of workers there decided to play ball and agreed to the dictates of Detroit. Now they have been rewarded with the Astra, along with millions of dollars in new investment and 700 new jobs. It is a dubious victory.

Not the best workers - but the cheapest - were the ones that won the bid. The GM Group is pursuing internal wage-dumping.

Posted by Worldmeets.US

This scheme is a financial blow to Ellesmere Port, but it is by no means over: It will now be vital to compensate Rüsselsheim. Production of the Zafira is expected to move from Bochum to Opel's Rüsselheim headquarters. For Bochum, a city in the Ruhr region, as well as over 3,000 workers, this spells the end.

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It is assumed that Rüsselsheim will gratefully accept manufacturing of the Zafira, despite the consequences for their colleagues in Bochum. In GM's world, it is every man for himself.