RENAULT TRUCKS PLANS TO ADJUST ITS WORKFORCE IN FRANCE

After several years of strong demand where customers have massively renewed their truck fleets, Renault Trucks sees its business activities impacted by the global economic crisis post COVID-19, and by the slowdown in demand for commercial vehicles.

The manufacturer, a subsidiary of the Volvo Group, is planning to adjust its workforce in France to restore competitiveness and secure long-term growth.

The post Covid-19 economic crisis will have a strong and lasting impact on Renault Trucks' results.  Renault Trucks is anticipating a significant drop in the truck market in 2020 and does not expect economic activity to return to pre-crisis levels in the short- and medium term.

The company is already feeling the effects of the economic fragility of the transport sector and predicts a lasting slowdown in customer demand. The immediate consequence of this situation is a significant drop in revenue.  To offset this drop and be able to continue investing in its future, the French truck manufacturer is striving to cut costs.

Renault Trucks plans to adjust its organisation to lower market demand, while accelerating its transformation focusing on customer and driver experience and energy transition.

This could result in reducing its workforce by 463 positions in France. Only white-collar workers would be affected. In parallel, Renault Trucks is considering creating new jobs by insourcing certain activities, which would mitigate the scale of job losses.

“Adjusting our organisation and reducing our costs is imperative for the sustainability of our business and that of our partners and suppliers,” explains Bruno Blin, President of Renault Trucks SAS. “Our will is to rely solely on voluntary departure measures and internal redeployment, and thus not to make any forced layoffs.”

In order to achieve this objective, Renault Trucks management will work closely with the representative trade unions on a framework agreement for the planned workforce adjustment project in the form of a Collective Contractual Termination Scheme.

This project would also be accompanied by internal skills transfer and upskilling measures in order to allow the manufacturer to face the new challenges of its industry.