Thuringia ready to help Opel, but won’t be blackmailed: premier

BERLIN (Reuters) – The German state of Thuringia is ready to offer assistance to carmaker Opel in order to keep open the region’s Eisenach plant, state premier Bodo Ramelow told Reuters on Monday.

The state could help with energy costs and property, he said, but added that it would only lend assistance if wage bargaining parties returned to the negotiating table. The state would also not allow itself to be blackmailed by PSA (PEUP.PA).

“We cannot accept that,” Ramelow said. Of the three states in which Opel produces in Germany, he added: “The three states won’t allow themselves to be divided.”