If Germans–and in particular Opel employees–are as upset by GM’s decision to keep Opel as the NYT makes it seem, GM would be better off selling it. It’s extremely difficult to keep a competitive edge with resentful employees.

My guess, though, is that GM can still leverage Opel’s talent and market if they proceed well. What’s really telling is that people have so little confidence in GM that they would be upset by GM keeping a company in its roster. Usually the resentment comes after the announcement of a sale. I don’t believe anybody has a deep resentment about GM keeping Opel per se, but to express such a sentiment shows an extremely low confidence in GM’s overall ability to survive. You would rather be owned the the Russian state than by GM? Desperate indeed.