GM workers in Hungary won't strike, but plant future uncertain

GM workers in Hungary won't strike, but plant future uncertainBudapest  - Workers at a General Motors factory in Hungary will not heed calls from German peers for industrial action following General Motors' decision to hold on to its European subsidiary Opel, local union leader Jozsef Vadasz told the state news agency MTI on Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the plant Edit Legradi told the German Press Agency dpa that it was too early to say how possible restructuring might affect GM's Hungarian operations.

The GM powertrain plant, on Hungary's border with Austria, directly employs 640.

It has been operating a four-day week since April to protect jobs in the face of falling demand.

Opel employs some 200 at a regional marketing office near Budapest.

GM announced on Wednesday that it would retain its European subsidiary Opel after months of negotiations to sell the firm to a consortium of the Canadian-Austrian parts maker Magna and Russia's Sberbank.

The Detroit-based automotive giant announced the same day that it plans to lay off 10,000 of its 50,000 European workers.(dpa)