French automotive supplier Valeo will cut 1,150 mostly white-collar jobs worldwide as it merges units manufacturing parts for hybrid and electric vehicles, the company and trade unions said Thursday.
The plan, presented Wednesday to trade unions, includes measures to support those being laid off.
“We want to reinforce our competitiveness by having a more agile, coherent and complete organisation,” said a company spokeswoman.
Some 735 of the jobs to be cut are in Europe, including 235 in France.
The company currently employs 109,900 people worldwide.
The FO trade union said the job cuts, which come on top of a recent announcement of layoffs at a French transmission plant and transfer of certain production to Turkey, only create further uncertainty about the future.
“We’re afraid that 2024 will be a very dark year,” said FO’s Bertrand Bellanger.
“What is going to happen to the sites dedicated to internal combustion engine cars? We’re very, very worried.”
The French state has been the largest shareholder in the company since 2019, with a 7.3 percent stake via two state-owned investment banks.
The company’s CEO has signalled that cost-cutting will be very important in 2024 given the stagnant auto market.
