Skip advert
Advertisement

Renault to cut 15,000 jobs

French car maker announces huge wave global redundancies as part of €2bn savings package; eight per cent of workforce lost

Renault is to cut 15,000 jobs across the world as part of a three-year “transformation” programme. A third (4,600) of the jobs will be cut in France, with “more than 10,000” being lost across the rest of Renault’s global operations.

The firm’s chief executive, Clotilde Delbos, said the firm would “look at all departments, with no taboos”, when making the cuts, with the company citing “the major crisis facing the automotive industry and the urgency of the ecological transition”  as it announced the redundancies.

Renault also drew attention to its pre-existing “difficulties”, which include the loss of figurehead and chairman of the Renault-Nissan alliance, Carlos Ghosn, while struggling Nissan saw Renault issue a profit warning late last year.

Advertisement - Article continues below

The French car maker’s pre-existing difficulties will have been brought even more sharply into focus by the global coronavirus pandemic, which has seen factory workers down tools and close production lines at vast expense, with a simultaneous evaporation of retail activities and sales compounding those costs.

Renault, which is 15 per cent owned by the French Government, currently employs around 180,000 globally, with the cuts representing an eight per cent fall in staff numbers.

Other efficiency drives include a slashing of the number of vehicle platforms the company uses, from 12 down to 4, together with a product drive that will see 22 new model launches over the next three years, alongside “less diversity in vehicles”. 

The company will also cut global production by 700,000 vehicles by 2024, while it is stopping planned expansions in Morocco and Romania. A consultation with its Douai and Maubeuge plants in France, hinting at the possibility of a closure as it seeks to create a single expertise centre for electric cars, will also begin. 

The future of sport-car arm Alpine, meanwhile, is also in doubt, after Renault said it would “open reflection on the reconversion” of the Dieppe plant that makes the A110, once the coupe’s production run had ended.

Jean-Dominique Senard, chairman of Renault’s board of directors, said the cuts are “fundamental to ensure the sustainability of the company and its development over the long term.” 

Senard added: “We are fully aware of our responsibility and the planned transformation can only be achieved with respect for all our Group's stakeholders and through exemplary social dialogue.”

What do you make of Renault's current issues? Let us know in the comments below...

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Best new cars coming soon: all the big new car launches due in 2024, 2025 and beyond
Best new cars coming soon - header image

Best new cars coming soon: all the big new car launches due in 2024, 2025 and beyond

These are the biggest and most important new cars headed our way, from brands including Audi, BMW, Dacia, Ferrari, Ford, Skoda and more
Best cars & vans
6 Nov 2024
Renault Embleme: hydrogen range-extender to get “next-generation platform”
Renault Embleme concept - front

Renault Embleme: hydrogen range-extender to get “next-generation platform”

First look inside Renault’s future EV as CEO Luca de Meo calls it a “masterpiece”
News
31 Oct 2024
Viva la Renaulution! Out-going Renault UK boss reveals brand's future plan
Renault brand future feature with out-going Renault UK boss Guillaume Sicard

Viva la Renaulution! Out-going Renault UK boss reveals brand's future plan

Out-going UK boss discusses laying the foundations for Renaulution
Features
29 Oct 2024
Paris Motor Show 2024: full show round-up and all the exciting new cars
Paris Motor Show 2024 - header image

Paris Motor Show 2024: full show round-up and all the exciting new cars

The all-new Renault 4, MINI John Cooper Works and Dacia Bigster were among the models on display at this year’s Mondial de L’Auto
News
16 Oct 2024

Most Popular

New cars that plummet in value can make brilliant used buys
Opinion - Vauxhall Corsa-e

New cars that plummet in value can make brilliant used buys

Editor Paul Barker takes a closer look at our 2024 Used Car Awards
Opinion
20 Nov 2024
A £10k electric car with a 100-mile range would surely be a sales success
Opinion - cheap EV

A £10k electric car with a 100-mile range would surely be a sales success

Mike Rutherford thinks there would be demand for an electric car with a modest 100-mile range if it only cost £10k
Opinion
17 Nov 2024
Best used cars to buy 2024
Best used cars 2024

Best used cars to buy 2024

From city cars to large SUVs, here’s our annual pick of the star performers that’ll save you thousands when you buy them used instead of new
Best cars & vans
20 Nov 2024