Opel Board Approves Restructuring Plan

The supervisory board of General Motors Co.'s Opel unit says it has given the green light to a turnaround program that includes higher exports, "massive" product investment and reductions in development, engineering and material expenses.

Opel also is counting on cost savings from GM's new alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroen. The plan received the de facto blessing of Opel's unions, who hold half the seats on the company's supervisory board.

Stephen Girsky, Opel chairman and GM vice chairman, says the restructuring will return Opel to profitability by an unspecified date. Separately, GM CEO Dan Akerson tells an audience in Chicago he'd be "disappointed" if the Opel wasn't making money within five years.

The company offers no details of the business plan, which runs through 2016. Opel previously it would invest €11 billion ($13.7 billion) in new vehicles through 2014 and close its assembly plant in Bochum, Germany, after 2016.