Renault plans to cut 14,600 jobs worldwide in race to reduce costs

The measures round off a decisive week for Renault and its Japanese partners Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., drawing a line under a two-decade era of aggressive expansion

Renault SA plans to eliminate about 14,600 jobs worldwide and lower production capacity by almost a fifth in a move to dramatically reduce costs and outlast the downturn that has rocked the global auto industry.

The plan includes the politically delicate task of trimming 4,600 positions in France, or about 10 per cent of the carmaker’s total in its home country, through voluntary retirement and retraining, according to a statement Friday. More than 10,000 further jobs will be scrapped in the rest of the world, pruning a global workforce of about 180,000 people.

The measures round off a decisive week for Renault