Renault is considering the end of its automobile production at Flins

The group must disclose a savings plan of € 2 billion, which includes the closure of four factories in total, according to "Le Canard enchaîné".

From the Dauphine to the Zoe, the factory in Flins has seen many flagship models of Renault. The French manufacturer is planning to permanently stop the auto production of this plant located in the Yvelines department which assembles the electric urban car Zoe and the Nissan Micra, according to a source close to the folder, partially confirming information of the Canard Enchaîné.

A closure is "unthinkable" for Philippe Martinez. "When you want its re-industrialization, it is unthinkable!", has responded to the secretary-general of the CGT on RTL this Wednesday, inviting the leadership to instead change the strategy of the car manufacturer. Renault "a need to replicate Renault in France and work on the employment in France. The situation of the Renault is not due to the health crisis. It is due to years of governance of Carlos Ghosn (former CEO, editor's NOTE), which was erected as a god for years, and we see the consequences of his strategy. It is this strategy that need to change", he further lamented.

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The group in the diamond must disclose may 29, the outlines of a comprehensive plan of economy of 2 billion euros announced in February. "Four plants would be closed in France : Choisy-le-Roi, Dieppe, and the Foundries of Britain, to begin with. The big piece in Flins (....) - will come later," said The Canard Enchaîné, without citing the source.

At Flins, it is, however, not a collapse, but stop the production automobile to dedicate the site to another activity, said a source close to the folder. A second source has confirmed that the closure pure and simple of the plant was not relevant, without excluding that it has been considered.

Inaugurated in 1952, the factory of Flins-sur-Seine has seen a twenty iconic models of the brand, including the Dauphine, the R4 and the R5. Most recently, she assembled the citadines Zoe (electric) and Micra (partner of Nissan) with 2,600 employees. The site has produced in the last year 160 000 vehicles including the Renault Clio, a model that is now fully relocated to Turkey.

Three other threatened sites

In trouble even before the crisis of the coronavirus that caused a collapse of the automotive market, Renault was recorded last year its first loss in ten years. The termination of the activity caused by the pandemic has made the situation worse. The manufacturer has seen the beginning of April its credit rating lowered to the status of a leveraged investment by the agency Standard and Poor s.

The French State, main shareholder of Renault, with 15% of the share capital, has agreed to fly to the rescue of the company by guaranteeing a bank loan of approximately 5 billion euros. This loan is guaranteed by the State, and approved by the european Union, was close to be signed Tuesday evening, according to a source.

The acting director general, Clotilde Delbos, had indicated in late April that the loan did not question the plan of savings of Renault, and possible job losses, the only condition set by the government, being the waiver of the dividends paid to shareholders this year.

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in Addition to Flins, the concern relates to the other three sites, the smaller, threatened, according to le Canard Enchaîné. The factory of Choisy-le-Roi (Val-de-Marne) employs 263 people in the repair of engines and gearbox used as parts of re-employment.

That of Dieppe (Seine-Maritime) has a total of 386 employees and assembles the sports model, the Alpine A110, a sports coupe with ambitions for top of the range sold very little. The production rate had been reduced to 7 vehicles per day in the beginning of the year.

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Finally, the foundry of Britain in Caudan (Morbihan), produces cast iron components for engines, chassis and gearboxes, with 385 employees. "There are discussions. Nothing is set in stone", however, has underlined a source close to the dossier, under the cover of anonymity.