General Motors Co. executives, rushing to update a restructuring plan for Opel and Vauxhall, are confident they can still win financial backing from Germany despite the rift created when the company's board abruptly abandoned a plan to sell control of the European divisions, The Wall Street Journal reported. John Smith, GM's lead restructuring executive for Opel, said in a conference call Tuesday that the car maker plans to review a new plan "very soon" and then present it to European governments and labor unions.

Germany, second only to China as the world's leading exporter of goods, has been particularly hard-hit by the collapse of global markets. But the mass unemployment some had feared has failed to materialize. Labor experts in many countries are wondering how Germany has done it, Spiegel Online reported. Germany currently has 1.1 million workers participating in short-time working programs, known in German as Kurzarbeit. They include people who don't have enough work, but who also are nevertheless not being let go.

German and Russian leaders seethed and unions tore up a deal to cut costs in protest at General Motors' "completely unacceptable" decision to keep Opel, its European unit, after months of talks, Reuters reported. Labor leader Klaus Franz rescinded hundreds of millions of euros in cost concessions that workers agreed to on condition that Opel was bought by Magna, the Russian-backed Canadian group long backed as buyer by Berlin and Moscow.

General Motors Co.'s board of directors will get one more chance to alter the auto maker's course in relation to its Opel and Vauxhall operations in Europe when it meets for its fourth formal meeting on the matter Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. The auto maker's board, formed in July after GM exited bankruptcy court, will be asked by the company's management team to approve the contents of a letter drafted in mid-October to address the European Union's concerns related to the sale of 55% of Opel to automotive supplier Magna International Inc.

BMW has become the first major company in Germany to change its compensation practices amid growing concern over excessive banker bonuses, Spiegel Online reported. The company cited a fairer work environment as its reason. Other firms are sure to take notice, given BMW's size and weight in the global business market. BMW plans to tie executive bonuses to those of its blue-collar workers, in a bid to create a fairer and sustainable compensation environment within the company.

The European Commission will not investigate the improper use of state aid in the ongoing attempts to sell carmaker Opel, Spiegel Online reported. The situation at Opel is so critical that the company would likely collapse before such an investigation could be complete. European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes just last week warned the German government she had "significant indications" the sale to Canadian auto parts manufacturer Magna may breach European single market rules.

Germany’s new finance minister, the veteran conservative politician Wolfgang Schäuble, moved swiftly Sunday to assert his power and tell his compatriots and the world that the finances of the largest European economy were dire and would take years to mend, The New York Times reported. Using the pulpit of the conservative newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Mr. Schäuble warned that there was no chance to balance the budget in the next four years of the new center-right coalition government headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Postal and logistics company Deutsche Post AG said Thursday that its DHL express unit is expected to lose 400 jobs in Germany after the closure of mail-order business Quelle, part of bankrupt retailer Arcandor AG, Forbes reported on an Associated Press story. The Bonn-based Post said it planned to close three German logistics locations in Bochum, Nuremberg and Lehrte that worked as the sole logistics provider for Quelle. It was still unclear when the DHL employees would lose their positions, Deutsche Post said.

Attempts to rescue Quelle, the German mail order company founded in 1927, have failed and it now looks set to be liquidated, causing the loss of thousands of jobs, Spiegel Online reported. No investor could be found after parent company Arcandor filed for insolvency in June. The news has shocked the retailer's workforce. Quelle's parent company, Arcandor, filed for insolvency in June after its request for state aid was rejected.

The German government said Monday it is hopeful of overcoming European Union worries about General Motors Co.'s deal to sell its Opel subsidiary to a Canadian-Russian consortium, and argued that there was no need to review the bidding process, The Associated Press reported. EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes last week voiced concern over Germany's plans to provide €4.5 billion ($6.7 billion) to support the takeover of Opel by Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. and Russian lender Sberbank.