GM's German staff recently striked over job-loss fears

A spokesman for the company was responding to claims by unions that GM was hoping to carry out restructuring without any job cuts or plant closures.

A GM spokesman insisted that it all depended upon ongoing negotiations with unions, and no pledge had been made.

GM workers in Germany went on strike in October over job-cut fears.

Then, GM, whose European brands are Opel, Vauxhall and Saab, warned that up to 12,000 jobs in Europe were at risk.

'No jobs promise'

A GM spokesman insisted on Wednesday that its new framework agreement with the unions was not tantamount to a pledge to keep all its European plants open indefinitely.

GM Europe Brands: Saab, Vauxhall, Opel Sales: 1.8m vehicles (2003) Employees: 63,000 Factories: 11 (Germany, Sweden, UK) Finances: $161m loss H1 2004

"[GM Europe Chairman Fritz] Henderson has always said that there was a realistic chance - depending on the results of negotiations - to avoid plant closures," the spokesman at GM Europe headquarters in Zurich said.

"But this is not a contract and not a guarantee against plant closures, certainly not."

Earlier Klaus Franz, head of the GM Europe employees' forum had said that the key point of the framework "is the declared intention of both contractual partners to avoid forced layoffs and plant closures".

GM said in October that around a fifth of its European workforce were at risk as it intended to cut costs by 500m euros (�346m; $666m) over two years. Most of the targeted jobs are in high-wage Germany.

GM Europe lost $161m in the first half of 2004, up from $68m one year earlier, according to the most recent figures.

Some 400 jobs are said to be at risk in the UK - 340 at Ellsemere Port in Merseyside and 94 in Luton.