Epidemic of coronavirus requires, the automotive supplier Valeo has announced, Tuesday, 21 July, have removed 12,000 jobs worldwide in the first half, including a nearly 2 000 of them in France, to reduce its costs and adjust to falling sales caused by the health crisis. These reductions have affected "all regions of the world," said CEO Jacques Aschenbroich, during a conference call with journalists.
In Europe, where "a little more than 4 000 jobs have been deleted, including" a little less than 2 000 " in France, there has, however, been no compulsory redundancies. It is essentially a question of contracts of temporary workers who have not been renewed, said the company. Valeo, specialist in particular, in electric engines and of assistance in the conduct for the automotive industry, has published on Tuesday a net loss of 1.2 billion euros from January to June. The turnover has fallen 28 % over the first six months of the year, 7,06 billion euros.
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A savings plan of € 570 million
"The cost reduction programs (...) are a response to market conditions that are appalling," said Jacques Aschenbroich. Valeo, which has amounted to 248 million euros of cost savings related to the reduction of the workforce, estimates that the automotive market will be permanently affected by the pandemic Covid-19.
The job cuts are part of a savings plan of € 570 million conducted in the first half. This plan also includes a reduction of research and development effort of 196 million euros and a reduction in overhead costs of € 97 million. The company is also engaged in negotiations with the social partners in France to improve its competitiveness. According to the CFDT, Valeo, management would put on the table a number of measures, including the cancellation of the incentive, a reduction of the leave, or a wage freeze and even a reduction of the base salary for engineers and managers. Interviewed Tuesday, Jacques Aschenbroich did not want to comment on these ongoing discussions.
