More Than 4,800 Renault Workers Voluntarily Quit Their Jobs

Renault's voluntary departure project is showing the first positive results as approximately 4,800 employees have agreed to quit their jobs from the beginning of the campaign. According to the French manufacturer, 65,5% of employees chose the "alternative employment leave" option, 18,8% took advantage of "aid with voluntary retirement" and 15,2% the "professional or personal plan" option.

880 workers of the 4,800 who agreed to resign were employed by the Sandouville facility, Renault said in a release.

"Because of the crisis, it was vital to adjust our staff to our business prospects. The Renault Voluntary Departure Project has enabled us to do this in a socially responsible way," Gérard Leclercq, Senior Vice President, Group Human Resources said.

"The number of voluntary departures confirms that the options we offered complied with the wishes of a large number of our employees. Now we must focus our efforts on involving everyone in supporting our action plans so that we can get through the crisis and prepare for the after crisis time."

Renault's Voluntary Departure Project was especially established to help the company tackle the economic recession without the need for job cuts that would become mandatory under the given circumstances. The scheme is based on 80 counsellors working in 21 different offices dealt with queries and advised people on the various options open to them and will continue until January 2010. In fact 2010 is the year projected to bring the automotive industry back to the pre-crisis levels.

But Renault has even more cost-cutting plans for its European production facilities, with around 6,400 workers expected to leave the company's plants on the continent.