Workers at the Antwerp plant will have to wait until 31 March to find out whether a rescue by European governments will be realised. Last week, Flemish minister president Kris Peeters said he was ready for a cash injection by his government, as part of a possible European rescue plan. This week he was due to fly to Detroit with labour minister Frank Vandenbroucke and economy minister Patricia Ceysens.

“Our main purpose is to stress the good points of the Antwerp factory; it remains a productive and efficient plant,” Ceysens commented. “We’d also like more clarity regarding the company’s plans. The last few days have seen all sorts of rumours circulating. We’d like some information first hand.”

General Motors, the parent company of Opel, last week announced the loss of 47,000 workers worldwide, with 27,000 of them employed outside the US. The company has a workforce of 244,000 and is the second-largest automobile manufacturer in the world, after Toyota.

The restructuring plan was delivered to the US government for consideration as part of Washington’s rescue plan for the car industry. Five plants in the US would close, and GM would hive off or close down four of its eight existing marques. In return, Washington is being asked for an additional credit line of $9.1 billion (€7 bn), on top of the loan of $13.4 billion (€10.4 bn) received at the end of 2008.

It remains unclear how the GM plans would affect Antwerp, as the company has given itself a deadline of 31 March to formulate plans for its European plants. GM has factories in Germany, Poland, Sweden, France, Spain, Hungary, Austria and Portugal, as well as Antwerp. Germany, with five plants, is likely to bear the brunt of the restructuring, and the German government has already expressed a willingness to take a €2 billion stake in a stand-alone European GM, along with the four Länder where GM plants are situated.

Belgium’s federal economy minister, Didier Reynders, said that the government would be interested in looking at rescue plans, but declined to give a more specific commitment. At the federal level, as is customary, aid to GM would be expected to come coupled with a similar package for industry in Wallonia.

But Ceysens warned that the region’s intervention would not be a blank cheque. “A capital injection by the Flemish government can only take place if Opel comes forward with a realistic business plan,” she said, before leaving for Detroit.

Unions welcomed the willingness of government to intervene. “It’s a positive sign that the government is ready to commit to a European perspective, but it’s only right that they should be wary about jumping in with taxpayers’ money,” said ABVV union representative Rudi Kennes. Unions were due to begin talks with GM management this week.

• Meanwhile, unions at the DAF trucks plant in Westerlo said they were “hopeful” following discussions between management and representatives of the Flemish government regarding job losses. DAF has announced restructuring measures that will lead to the loss of 874 of the 2,700 jobs at the plant. Both Kris Peeters and Frank Vandenbroucke met with DAF management following the announcement and appear to have been given some reassurances about reductions in working hours and increased training opportunities, in an effort to soften the blow of the planned redundancies. Peeters has also had talks with Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende. DAF has a plant in Eindhoven, and it was important, Peeters said, for the two governments not to compete with each other in the measures they take.