By Laura Stevens, The Associated Press

RUESSELSHEIM, Germany - General Motors' top European official said Wednesday that all four Opel plants in Germany will remain open under a restructuring plan, leaving the threat of closure hanging over other facilities in Britain, Spain, Belgium and Poland.

Nick Reilly said GM's plan for Opel and sister brand Vauxhall sees the Eisenach plant in eastern Germany as "a significant resource for the production of (Opel) Corsas for the long term."

His assurance that "we would like to keep that operation" followed a series of meetings with German state officials. He said the Eisenach plant is "very competitive."

Reilly indicated earlier this week that two other German plants, in Bochum and Kaiserslautern, will remain open and on Wednesday made clear that Adam Opel GmbH's biggest German facility, in Ruesselsheim, is also safe.

The fact that GM Europe is relocating its headquarters from Zurich to Ruesselsheim is "an indication of how important we believe this site will be," Reilly said.

Still, he confirmed that up to 9,500 jobs are likely to be cut across Europe, including Germany.

The news also raises concerns for the future of Opel's sites in other countries, for which Reilly declined to give details.

GM was expected to present details of the plan to employee representatives later in the day.

Opel and Vauxhall have plants in countries including Belgium, Britain, Poland and Spain.

General Motors Co. shocked Germany and other European countries earlier this month by abruptly cancelling the planned sale of a majority in Opel to a consortium of Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. and Russian lender Sberbank.

Opel employs around 45,000 people in Europe, about 25,000 of them in Germany.

On Monday, GM asked European governments to help pay most of the C3.3 billion ($4.9 billion) it needs to restructure its European operations.