General Motors' decision to pull out of a deal concerning the sale of its European division Opel/Vauxhall has triggered outrage from the German government and fresh uncertainty for the automaker's European workers.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had offered 4.5 billion euros to facilitate the sale to Canada's Magna and Russia's Sberbank in an effort to save as many German jobs as possible.

Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said the decision not to finalise a preliminary deal hammered out in September was "totally unacceptable", while the IG Metall union warned that strikes across Germany would follow on Thursday.

In a terse statement, a spokesman for Chancellor Merkel said Berlin wanted GM - majority-owned by the US government since a financial bail out - to pay back a 1.5 billion euro loan made earlier this year.

Whatever the future holds for Opel/Vauxhall, it's likely to include job losses given General Motors' announcement that it has three-billion-euro restructuring plans for its European division.