Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne on Friday pitched his bid for German automaker Opel to the government chiefs in the regions where the car is produced and found his greatest obstacle was concern over job cuts, reports the ANSA news agency.

Kurt Beck, premier of the Rhineland-Rüsselsheim region which is home to an Opel parts and engine plant in Kaiserslautern, said after meeting with Marchionne that closing the factory was unacceptable and that his concerns over Fiat's overall plan ''have grown rather than diminished'' after their meeting. Marchionne responded by saying that the future of the Kaiserslautern plant was ''still up for discussion''.

Job cuts are a very delicate issue ahead of German federal elections in September. The government chief of the Hesse region where General Motor's European division has its headquarters, Roland Koch, questioned the basis of Fiat's offer, given that it had not performed due diligence on Opel. Nevertheless, Koch welcomed the Italian company's interest. A decision on Opel's future needed to be made before the end of the month, Koch said, inviting Fiat to present a concrete offer soon, so it could be evaluated together with other options.

Marchionne agreed that it would be best to resolve the question of Opel before the end of the month, which coincides with the deadline US President Barack Obama gave GM to produce a restructuring plan in order to qualify for further federal aid. Speaking after his meetings with the German officials, Marchionne said ''Europe has a great interest in resolving the (Opel) problem''. Fiat, the CEO added, is examining ''different solutions'' and scenarios in regard to Opel. ''The press is awash with our alleged plans. What I can say is that we have made an in-depth internal review of possible solutions in the event an accord is reached with Opel and we are continuing to examine them,'' Marchionne said. This was confirmed by German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenburg who said on Friday that ''Fiat is still tweaking its plan'' for Opel.

The Fiat CEO is courting both Germany's central and regional governments because the acquisition operation hinges on receiving loan guarantees from them. He also been carrying out parallel talks directly with GM in Detroit which are also believed to focus on Saab of Sweden, GM's other European marque, and its divisions in Latin America and elsewhere in the world. Marchionne's ultimate goal is to create a global automotive giant to rival Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen.

Last month Marchionne successfully negotiated a non-cash deal which will give Fiat an initial 20 percent and later 35 percent stake in Chrysler and a possibility of gaining a majority stake once federal bail-out funds have been repaid. According to the terms of the agreement, Fiat will receive up to 35 percent of Chrysler in exchange for its cutting-edge green technology, platforms for small, fuel efficient cars and producing its own cars in America.

Fiat will also offer the Detroit No.3 its sales and service networks in Europe and Latin America and in exchange will be able to rely on Chrysler's networks in North America as well as its production plants. This will allow Fiat to return to the lucrative American market, at first with its Alfa Romeo marque and probably the new Fiat 500 city car.

Once this partnership is finalised, Marchionne is expected to spin off Fiat Auto - the Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo marques - from the Fiat Group and merge it with GM's European arm. Marchionne is set to be the head of the future automotive giant.