Renault has announced dramatic job cuts to its global workforce after facing unprecedented challenges following the lockdown. With a significant sales slump in Europe and around the world due to the pandemic, France’s iconic carmaker has had to make difficult decisions in order to restructure its business.
Renault will be cutting 15,000 jobs in order to save up to €2 billion euros. This includes significant reductions in its French operations with a cut of 4,600 jobs. The car manufacturer will negotiate with unions the terms of the redundancies.
With a 15% stake in the manufacturer the French government has been eager to provide assistance to Renault and is in discussions to provide an additional €5 billion euros in loans to help it weather the downturn over the coming months.
As Europe and the rest of the world suffered an unprecedented economic stagnation, manufacturers like Renault and Nissan have been making steep cuts to keep their businesses running while demand remains subdued.
In Britain during the month of April, less than 200 cars were produced, the lowest number of cars made since World War 2. A similar picture was also seen in several European countries with people unable to return to factories and cars not going into production.
With Renault seeking to move towards electric vehicles, it hopes that it will be able to regain momentum in the next year as the economy gets back to normal and demand for energy efficient cars grow. The French government has also increased its subsidy for people that choose to buy electric cars, with the objective of improving demand as it seeks to commit to its pledge of reducing carbon emissions following the Paris Agreement.
