Renault begins to tighten the bolts after the announcement, on February 14, of its worst financial results in a decade with a loss of the group of 141 million euros very far from the 3.3 billion profits in 2018 and a turnover down 3.3% to 55.5 billion euros.
If Clotilde Delbos, the acting director general, warned that there was "no taboo" on possible plant closings, even in France, the automotive group is starting to cut into its sick branches.
The group has announced to its employees the sale of 20% of its distribution network in France, that is to say ten establishments representing a hundred sites out of the 50 establishments managed by its subsidiary Renault Retail Group.
In this list, we find the establishments of Montpellier, Strasbourg, Nancy, Mulhouse, Montbéliard, Orléans or even Toulouse and Nîmes.
This 100% subsidiary of Renault lost 202 million euros in 2018 and 48 million euros in 2019. Last year, employees demonstrated to denounce the management of the company by the former management.
Since July 2018, the reins have been entrusted to Olivier Baraille, the former CEO of Ikea France with the mission of cleaning up.
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“For each establishment, potential buyers are already identified. These are dealers who already distribute the group's brands, ”explained the RRG boss.
According to him, the 1,600 employees affected by these sales should be able to continue their activity. In addition, the hundred or so employees affected by the sale of RRG's head office will be reclassified in other structures.
“Worrisome” announcements, says FO
To complete these disposals, RRG has given itself two years. This clean-up should then continue with the examination of the situation of around thirty sites in Ile-de-France.
If currently RRG, which has 12,000 employees spread over 275 sites in 14 European countries, represents around 30% of Renault, Nissan or Dacia sales in France, the objective according to management with this plan which will generate cash is to be able modernize its network. The idea is to be able to adapt to “new consumption patterns, in particular the digitalization of the customer journey. "
The fact remains that the employees are not convinced by this plan. In a statement, FO described the announcements as "disturbing". For its part, the CFDT reserves the right to request an audit ”. As for CFE-CGC, it hopes that the sums released will serve to consolidate the remaining establishments.
