Aug 13 (Reuters) - Magna and its Russian partner Sberbank reached an agreement in principle with General Motors over a contract to buy a stake in GM's European unit Opel, Magna Co-Chief Executive Siegfried Wolf told Reuters on Thursday.
A deal with Magna would be a relief for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is keen to avoid the prospect of mass layoffs before a Sept. 27 election. She and the premiers of the four German states that house Opel plants have publicly backed Magna, arguing it offered a more sustainable plan for the group.
Below is a summary of the main factories building Opel cars in Europe:
* GERMANY:
RUESSELSHEIM: About 15,600 employees assembled roughly 120,000 vehicles last year at Opel's headquarters. The factory built the Vectra and Signum models as well as the new Insignia. The site also houses a technical centre that carries out research and development for the entire GM group.
BOCHUM: A staff of some 5,200 produced close to 200,000 Astra compacts and Astra-based Zafira vans last year in Germany's traditional coal-mining district, which has been grappling with high unemployment for years. Under the original Magna plan, some 2,200 jobs were at risk, according to German politicians.
EISENACH: About 1,800 workers assembled 156,972 3-door Corsa subcompacts at the plant, which was inaugurated in 1992 as a hallmark project to revive eastern Germany's decrepit industrial structure.
KAISERSLAUTERN: About 3,500 employees manufacture four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines and components in a plant situated in Rhineland-Palatinate. Close to 150,000 engines were built there last year. Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne had flip-flopped over the issue of its closure.
* BRITAIN:
ELLESMERE PORT: The site assembled over 110,000 Astras in 2008 under the Vauxhall badge, the British version of the Opel brand.
LUTON: Last year built about 60,000 Vivaro delivery vans, a larger sister to the Combo used for commercial purposes. The site is also home to production of some 27,000 Renault Trafic vans. Like Antwerp, a potential candidate for closure.
* OTHER FACTORIES IN EUROPE:
BELGIUM - Antwerp: Some 133,000 Astras were built in the Flemish plant, often considered to be one of the top candidates for closure.
POLAND - Gliwice: Built about 170,000 vehicles last year, mainly Zafiras as well as Astras, making it a chief rival of Bochum for production volume.
SPAIN - Zaragoza: Built 423,000 vehicles last year, consisting of 5-door Corsas, the Meriva minivan based on the Corsa architecture, and the Combo delivery van.
Sources: Reuters; http://media.gm.com/intl/opel/en/company/c_production/index.html; (Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner; Additional writing by David Cutler and Jijo Jacob; Editing by David Holmes)