French newsletter L’Informe stated on Saturday that French automaker Renault will lay off 3,000 employees by offering a voluntary redundancy package to personnel in support functions.
In a project named “Arrow,” Renault is seeking to reduce the size of its staff in support functions like human resources, finance, and marketing by 15 percent, which will result in an estimated 3,000 layoffs at the carmaker’s headquarters in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, and elsewhere around the world.
The newsletter cited a source close to the case saying that a final verdict was to be reached by the year-end.
Renault affirmed that it is looking at cost reductions, but at this point, it has no numbers to share since there are no decisions to be made.
Spokesperson of Renault adds, “Given the uncertainties in the automotive market and the extremely competitive environment, we confirm that we are considering ways to simplify our operations, speed up execution, and optimize our fixed costs.”
By the end of 2024, Renault had hired 98,636 employees across the globe.
auRenault announced its 11.2 billion euro ($13 billion) first-half net loss in July, and Nissan, its partner, had a 9.3-billion-euro write-down.
Net income, unadjusted by the write-down, dropped to 461 million euros, significantly less than it was a year earlier, as a result of a weakened van market combined with expenses related to electric vehicles and pressure to compete in a more competitive environment.
New CEO Francois Provost, who joined Renault in July following the exit of Luca de Meo to Gucci-owner Kering, has retrieved margins, reinstated Renault’s credit rating to the investment grade, and established how the relatively small carmaker can counter the effects of U.S. tariffs and fierce competition by Chinese carmakers, analysts say.
