The logo of Opel is seen at a car at the Opel plant in Bochum November 4, 2009. The board of General Motors has decided not to sell its Opel unit to Canadian auto parts maker Magna, GM confirmed the decision made by its 13-member board after a meeting of directors on Tuesday in Detroit.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    CHICAGO, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. automaker General Motors Co.'s board of directors decided on Tuesday to retain its German Opel unit instead of selling it to Canada's Magna International Inc. and its Russian partner, Sberbank.

    The board based its decision, in part, on an improved business environment in Europe and GM's overall financial health and stability since emerging from bankruptcy court after receiving about 50 billion U.S. dollars in federal aid.

    Those two factors gave GM confidence "that the European business can be successfully restructured," President and CEO Fritz Henderson said in a statement.

    GM is not barred from spending some of the 50-billion-dollar aid it has received from the U.S. government on its overseas units.

    The U.S. automaker would submit a restructuring plan soon to Germany and other governments that could involve cutting about 10,000 jobs and slashing structural costs by about 30 percent.

    GM's decision ended a protracted negotiation that started earlier this year. Under the terms of the deal agreed with Magna and Sberbank, they would each get a 27.5-percent stake in the Ruesselsheim-based Opel. GM would keep 35 percent, and GM employees would get the remaining 10 percent.

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