FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Ford's <F.N> decision to close three factories and cull 5,700 jobs in Europe will not serve as a blueprint for General Motors' <GM.N> Opel unit, where upcoming cuts will be far milder, the German carmaker's top labour leader said.

Mass market carmakers Ford, Opel, Peugeot <PEUP.PA> and Fiat <FIA.MI> all expect heavy losses in Europe over the next couple of years as painful economic reforms across the continent send demand plummeting to levels not seen since in nearly 20 years.

Opel works council Chairman Wolfgang Schaefer-Klug told Reuters in an interview he aims to reach a deal on German jobs with the company's management before Christmas.

"We have to reach an agreement in principle by Christmas, that's clear," he said. (Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner and Jan Schwartz)