Canadian firm Magna which is set to take over GM, plans to sack 437 employees in Opel's Polish operation, according to a leaked business plan.

Workers have reacted angrily to the proposed reshuffle, particularly in Spain and Belgium. In the former, production elements for the Corsa model is to be shifted from Saragossa to Eisenach in the east of Germany, while in Belgium, the Antwerp plant is to be shut down completely.

As the news was revealed, employees took to the streets to demonstrate against the decision of the Canadian firm.

The president of GM Europe, Carl-Peter Forster, defended the company's stance. "We always said that we would have to restructure in order to stay competitive in the long term, given the massive crisis in the car industry," he told The Times.

Magna was favored for the takeover of GM by German Chancellor Andrea Merkel, because of the reduced job cuts in Germany. Ms Merkel is due to run in the upcoming elections.