The real question I have is what does this mean for the region?

I am assuming that Auburn Hills will remain the North American HQ. Does this merger bring new or expanded engineering here, or does that get shifted to somewhere in Europe? As part of any large merger, much of the cost savings comes from eliminating redundancy and streamlined functions. Does the streamlining come at the expense of jobs here, or somewhere else?

To me, this merger presents an opportunity to create new jobs and new technologies here, or to watch existing jobs get shipped elsewhere. Hopefully the local leadership is involved and takes the right steps to grow employment here.