Renault plans to cut 4,600 jobs in France

Renault workers assemble a car in the Flins factory on May 6, 2020. REUTERS / Gonzalo Fuentes

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The project was to be made public this Friday, May 29 during a press conference organized by Renault management. But, the suspense will not have held, after a Central Social and Economic Committee several sources reported that the French automotive group expected about 15,000 job cuts worldwide. In France, 4,600 jobs will disappear with the savings plan planned for several months even before the coronavirus crisis.

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This reduction of approximately 8% in the workforce must be done "  without redundancy  ". But via voluntary departures, internal mobility measures or non-replaced retirements. In France, a procedure for consulting employee representatives should start "  from mid-June  ".

Less staff, and production capacity also decreasing from 4 million vehicles currently worldwide to 3.3 million on the basis of two work shifts per day. Production should assume a third of the two billion euro savings plan, according to concordant sources cited by AFP. Another third will relate to engineering, a third finally to structural, marketing and network costs.

►Also read: Automobile: why Renault is playing for its survival

Concerning the production sites in France, several sources indicate that the activity of the Choisy-le-Roy factory must be transferred to Flins, around sixty kilometers away, still in the Paris region. However, a representative of the CFDT ensures that the future of the sites will be the subject of discussions with the public authorities and the social partners.

According to a union source cited by AFP, the project also provides for a strategic review of the foundry-cast iron system in France. Consideration will also be given to a transformation of the Flins site and the conversion of the Dieppe factory at the end of production of the Alpine 110. In the rest of the world, Renault will notably suspend projects to extend factories in Morocco and Romania.

♦ Nissan cuts 20,000 jobs in Spain

In Spain, in Barcelona, ​​the car manufacturer Nissan has decided to close its factory installed in the region for 40 years, reports our correspondent on site Elise Gazengel . In total, more than 20,000 Spaniards will lose their jobs in a country where the automotive sector represents 10% of its GDP. 

It is therefore a major blow to the Spanish industry. The automaker believes that its facilities in the region are no longer profitable and wants to close them at the end of the year. Nearly 3,000 direct employees will lose their jobs, in addition to more than 20,000 subcontractor workers in the region who depend on the Japanese company. This announcement angered the employees who had gathered in front of their factory and ignited tires at the doors of the company before cutting the roads by demonstrating. 

For their part, the Catalan and Spanish authorities deplored - in unison - this departure and are asking Nissan to reconsider their decision. According to the government, the investments required to maintain the plant are even lower than the estimated cost of the closure, which it estimated at more than a billion euros. 

In the meantime, the striking workers have announced that they will continue to fight every day for the survival of their factory and the tens of thousands of jobs that depend on it. 

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  • Automobile
  • Coronavirus
  • France
  • Spain
  • Employment and Work

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