仏ルノー、新型コロナ解雇に従業員８０００人が抗議　労組発表

【モブージュＡＦＰ＝時事】仏自動車大手ルノーが新型コロナウイルス流行の影響により全世界で1万5000人の人員削減を決定したことを受けて、フランス北部モブージュの同社工場前で30日、従業員数千人が抗議集会を行った。労働組合側は8000人が参加したと発表している。（写真は同工場前で、人員削減策に抗議する人々）
　ルノーは新型ウイルスのパンデミック（世界的な大流行）により悪化した経営難からの脱却を目指し、人員削減策を打ち出した。仏国内では４６００人が削減される見通しとなっている。
　抗議集会が行われたモブージュの工場は約２１００人を雇用しているが、２９日以降、操業を停止している。労組組合員のジェローム・デルボーさんはＡＦＰに対し、「まるで地震が起きているようだ。ここにあるわれわれの会社を守りたい」と話した。
　デルボーさんは「従業員やこの地域の住民がこの会社に深く関わっていることや、われわれが支持されていることを政府やルノーに示すために、今日のデモはたとえ最初の一歩にすぎなかったとしても非常に重要だ」「われわれにはこの仕事が必要だ。さもないと、この地域一帯が死んでしまう」と訴えた。
　新型コロナウイルス感染症（ＣＯＶＩＤ-１９）のパンデミックを受け、多くの人々が数週間にわたる自宅待機を強いられて以降、自動車産業は販売不振にあえいでいる。ルノーは市場での競争力を立て直すため、今後３年間で２０億ユーロ（約２４００億円）超のコスト削減を図り、電気自動車に軸足を移す方針を示している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/06/01-13:08）

Thousands of workers rallied Saturday outside the Renault factory in northern France to protest the automaker's decision to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide, including 4,600 in France.
Unions said 8,000 people took part in the protest at the Maubeuge subsidiary over the cuts designed to help Renault steer out of a cash crunch exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
The plant, which employs around 2,100 people, has been stopped since Friday.
Under the new plan, Maubeuge-based production of electric Kangoo utility vehicles is set to move to Douai, 70 kilometres (45 miles) away, much to the consternation of workers.
It's an earthquake that is taking place. We want to keep our company here, Jerome Delvaux, a union member, told AFP.
This demonstration today is very important, even if it is a first step, to show the government and Renault that workers and residents of this area are committed to this company and that we have support, Delvaux added.
We need these jobs, otherwise it's a whole territory that will die, he said.
The company will target savings of more than two billion euros ($2.2 billion) over three years and turn its focus to electric vehicles as it seeks to restore competitiveness in a market reeling from slumping sales since the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people into home confinement for weeks on end.
Renault had been navigating turbulent waters even before the health crisis, starting with the shock arrest of its former boss Carlos Ghosn on financial misconduct charges in 2018 which led to deep rifts in its alliance with Japanese partners Nissan and Mitsubishi.
In February, the company unveiled its first annual loss in a decade, followed quickly by the 2020 health crisis that saw new car registrations in the European Union plunge 76.3 percent year-on-year in April.
In an adjustment plan announced to unions Thursday, Renault said nearly 4,600 jobs would be cut out of 48,000 in France, and more than 10,000 in the rest of the world -- some eight percent of the company's global workforce.
It would entail retraining, internal mobility and voluntary departures, spread out over three years, with no outright dismissals envisioned for now.
Four production sites in France could be closed or restructured, the automaker said, and its hulking factory at Flins northwest of Paris will stop making the Zoe electric hatchback from 2024.