UPDATE 1-Opel workers happy GM CEO gone; Berlin needs time

* Labour leader supports new CEO Henderson

* Says Henderson supportive of Opel independence * Sales boost for Opel from scrapping bonus

BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - General Motors' (GM.N) German work force at Opel applauded the abrupt departure of Rick Wagoner as chief executive, while Berlin signalled it needs more time to work on a plan to save the GM unit.

"The move was overdue," senior Opel labour leader Klaus Franz told Reuters on Monday, welcoming head of operations and former GM Europe president Fritz Henderson as Wagoner's replacement.

Henderson -- who oversaw a sweeping restructuring of Opel years ago that resulted in thousands of job cuts when he was head of GM Europe -- made a clear push for a carve out of GM's German brand, according to the Opel works council boss and member of its supervisory board.

Franz said the new GM CEO supports independence for Opel, which is searching for a new investor that could potentially take a majority stake, while Wagoner "personified the failed policy of a centralised system".

GM Europe has yet to comment on the change in GM's senior management in Detroit.

Bernstein analyst Max Warburton said the U.S. government's decision to grant a 60-day extension to GM to finish working on creating a viable restructuring plan did not change much for Opel, since its fate rested ultimately with politicians in Europe and Berlin.

"This gives the German government another excuse to procrastinate and wait to see what the U.S. plan looks like, but Opel may run out of capital in the meantime," Warburton said.

Berlin's economics minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, confirmed as much, saying that the 60-day extension should be used "to optimise and to clarify" whether it fulfils the criteria for state aid.

Separately, German officials released data on Monday that showed every tenth new vehicle bought by a German car owner through a government scrappage bonus -- which pays people to scrap cars at least nine years old, if they buy a new one -- was an Opel, putting it only slightly behind market leader VW (VOWG.DE), with 14 percent.

"The scrapping bonus has created some breathing room for Opel," said Stefan Bratzel, the head of the automotive research center at the Applied University of Bergisch Gladbach.

Guttenberg pointed out this sales boost could help provide Opel with additional liquidity while a solution is being sought. (Reporting by Angelika Gruber and Gernot Heller, additional reporting by Christiaan Hetzner and Patricia Gugau in Frankfurt; editing by Simon Jessop)