THE Renault motor group plans to shed 2,764 jobs in France this year and will assign 1,032 people to different posts, various sources said yesterday.
Renault executives at the Geneva Auto Show confirmed the existence of a "social plan" that would be presented to the central shop committee on March 13th
The company declined to comment beyond saying that an employment programme "to continue the reduction of the workforce while maintaining recruitment of young people" would be presented to staff on March 13th
The company provoked fury and demonstrations in Belgium by announcing at the end of last week that it is to close a factory employing 3,100 people at Vilvorde
Sources said that 300 people in France would be given early retirement to make way for the recruitment of 150 young people.
The French government has made the creation of jobs for young people a priority in its fight against high unemployment. Renault is still 46 per cent owned by the state.
However, it has recently rejected a scheme put forward by Renault, and by the private Peugeot-Citroen group, for the state to finance early retirement for thousands of staff to help the companies reduce costs and compete on the European market.
Employees of Renault in Belgium, and officials, suspect the French government of shifting much of the cost and upheaval associated with big reductions of the workforce to Belgium, and on to Belgian workers and the Belgian taxpayer.
The revolt by the Belgian staff has attracted support from Renault employees elsewhere in Europe who fear their factories might be next on the list for restructuring, and from workers of a Belgian steel works who also face loss of their jobs.
The French industry minister, Mr Franck Borotra, urged Renault to "renew talks with the authorities and discussions with the employees" to "limit the consequences of the restructurings for the workforce.
Mr Borotra also said that the French auto market would drop "by 10 to 12 per cent" this year by comparison with 1996. The most recent estimate, by both the minister and by car manufacturers, was for a 10 per cent drop.
For first two months of the year, sales of new cars plunged by 21 per cent in France compared to the same period last year.
