Renault mulls building Nissans in France
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PARIS -- Renault is considering producing cars in France for Nissan and other partners as part of a possible deal with the country's unions on working conditions and increased flexibility.
"The signing of an agreement in the framework of current negotiations with unions to guarantee the global performance of Renault in France will allow us to make commitments on the allocation of volumes coming from our partners," Renault said in a statement today.
French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg said earlier today on the radio station RMC that he had asked Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer for both Renault and Nissan, to look at producing Nissan vehicles at underutilized Renault factories as part of the current labor talks.
Renault plans to cut 7,500 jobs in France over the next four years to bring its automotive operations in the country back to breakeven.
The automaker is also demanding a longer workweek and other concessions in talks with French unions and has dangled the possibility of Nissan and Daimler production to keep domestic plants running.
Renault is 15 percent government-owned and holds 43.4 percent of Nissan.
Automakers across Europe are having to slash costs and capacity to stem losses, as the euro zone debt crisis and government austerity plans sap car demand. European car sales were close to a 20-year low in 2012.
Bloomberg and Reuters contributed to this report
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