It’s a short sentence that makes the Renault company tremble. Is it excluded to close factories in France? The group’s response is not reassuring. “We have no taboos and we do not rule out anything given the current world market situation”, explains Clotilde Delbos, acting general manager of the Renault group. For the first time in ten years, the group is in the red: 141 million euros in losses last year with sales down (-3.4%).
At the 12 Renault production sites in France, activity has already slowed down at certain sites. Some assembly lines have been eliminated at the Flins (Yvelines) and Douai (North) sites. In question, the models manufactured are selling poorly there.
Renault plans to save more than two billion euros over three years. The unions denounce blackmail at work and criticize the group’s relocation strategy. “We have factories loaded abroad and we have factories in France that are operating at less than 50%, we are asking for a rebalancing”, explains Jean-François Pibouleau, from CGT Renault.
After the Carlos Ghosn affair, the year ahead promises to be even more difficult for Renault. The group must comply with the new European CO2 emission rules, otherwise it will have to pay, like its competitors, heavy fines in 2021.
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