General Motors said Friday that the head of its European operations, Carl-Peter Forster, was leaving, three days after the automaker’s decision to scrap a planned sale of its Opel unit.
Forster had been widely expected to run the independent Opel, which would have been split from GM in the sale of a controlling stake to Canadian car parts maker Magna International and Sberbank.
The departure is the first high-profile exit at Opel since GM’s board reversed course and said the automaker would keep the European unit and raise funds to restructure Opel on its own.
That decision touched off a storm of protests in Germany, where Magna had been seen as the best chance to preserve jobs. It also drew criticism from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who had vocally backed the deal.
Nick Reilly, current head of GM’s international operations, is set to lead GM’s looming reorganization of Opel, a person briefed on the plan said. Meanwhile, Bob Lutz, 77, who agreed to defer retirement earlier this year to head GM’s global marketing efforts, will become chairman of the Opel supervisory board, a second person said.
GM declined to comment on those moves.
Forster had spoken out in favor of the Magna deal just days before the board met to approve the sale in mid-September, straining relations with senior executives in Detroit.
“Carl-Peter Forster nailed his colors to the mast of Magna,” said an Opel labor representative who asked not to be named.
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