Automobile company Renault said on Friday that it is going to have talks with the French unions to restructure some plants in France and shut down some plants. It confirmed plans to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide as it goes through a slump in sales.
The company is aiming to find 2 billion euros in savings over a period of 3 years as it cuts down production and focuses on the profitable areas.
Renault said that this would affect around 10% of its workforce, which includes job cuts and transfers, and would cost around 1.2 billion euros.
The company said that some plants, like in Flins, near Paris, would stop making cars and focus on recycling instead. There is a total of six sites which are under consideration.
Renault, which is 15% owned by the French state, was already under pressure to take such a measure after it reported its first loss in a decade last year. It is now trying to balance a slump in sales and more investment in green cars.
It said the cuts would be in areas like engineering and reducing the number of components it uses and slashing gearbox manufacturing. Renault has also frozen expansion plans in Romania and Morocco.
