BERLIN — The German government anticipates a visit this week from a General Motors Co. executive as Berlin pushes for a quick decision on the European Opel unit's future, an official said Monday.
The government hopes the executive will meet with Germany's "Opel task force" of federal and state officials, government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said. He did not identify the manager or give more precise timing.
GM's board on Friday made no decision between bids for a majority in Opel from a consortium led by Canada's Magna InternationalInc. and Brussels-based investor RHJ International SA. It was unclear when it might decide.
"A decision needs to be made regarding Opel's future as quickly as possible," German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck was quoted as telling the Handelsblatt daily. "We are under time pressure, because the Opel employees need to finally know what is happening."
Wilhelm said there was contact at "working level" over the weekend between the German chancellery and the White House, and between the chancellery and GM. The automaker is now 60.8 percent owned by the U.S. government.
Business, Pages 26 on 08/25/2009