Job fears as Citroen moves UK headquarters to Coventry

[dutchman]

Coventry will be the new UK headquarters for car maker Citroen after bosses confirmed relocation plans.

The decision will mean workers from Citroen’s Slough head office will relocate to sister company Peugeot’s site at Pinley House in Stoke Aldermoor.

There are rumours the move could take place in September.

A total of 180 Citroen staff will be affected by the move and are currently involved in a 90-day consultation – as fears grow over the risk of redundancies at both sites.

A spokesman at Citroen said: “Although it hasn’t been officially announced yet, we can confirm that Citroen UK will be relocating to Coventry.

“There is no timescale on when this will happen as staff are currently undergoing individual consultations because of the distance involved.

“However, the goal is for as many staff as possible to move to the new head office in Coventry, but for certain individuals that may not be possible.”

Last month, the Telegraph revealed that talks were taking place over the proposed move, with workers in Coventry saying they felt any decision to relocate could lead to more job losses for the struggling car maker.

The news comes on the same day Peugeot Citroen revealed a slump in sales – down to £12.6billion in the first quarter, seven per cent lower than a year earlier.

The car firm blamed the collapse of markets in southern Europe for the weak quarterly performance.

Coventry-based Peugeot workers have had a worrying start to the year, with staff at the company’s Torrington Avenue parts division being balloted for strike action in a dispute over performance-related pay.

Also the firm had planned to move its parts division from Tile Hill to Prologis Park in Ryton – but mounting debts forced bosses to abandon the move.

Workers were given letters just weeks ago informing them of the company’s “major cost control programme” and telling them “staffing levels will be recalculated”.

The move of staff from Slough has now prompted fresh fears of even more job losses for the Coventry firm.

[dutchman]

Coventry jobs safe as Peugeot axes 8,000

WORKERS at Coventry car firm Peugeot are being told there is nothing to fear after the struggling firm announced plans to slash 8,000 jobs.

The move, which was revealed yesterday, will see thousands of jobs axed and a factory in France closed as part of PSA Peugeot-Citroen’s latest cost-cutting plan.

The announcement came as the company – which has sites in Tile Hill and Stoke – warned it faces a first-half loss of £553million this year.

Bosses at the French carmaker said it will close its Aulnay-sous-Bois factory near Paris, one of the biggest car plants in France, with the loss of 3,000 jobs.

A further 1,400 workers will be axed at its Rennes factory and 3,600 more in other French sites.

But a spokesman in Coventry was quick to allay local fears, claiming nobody in the UK would be affected by the decision.

“The UK has already gone through a reorganisation process which saw Citroen move to Coventry,” he said. “This is purely a French reorganisation and will not impact on the UK.”

Three months ago, the Coventry Telegraph revealed the city was to become the UK headquarters for Citroen.

From September workers from the car firm’s Slough base will relocate to sister company Peugeot at Pinley House in Stoke. This will bring the number of workers at the firm’s two Coventry sites to 750.

It was claimed a total of 180 Citroen staff would be affected by the move as fears began to grow over the risk of redundancies at both sites.

Many Coventry workers believed any plans to relocate staff from Slough could lead to job losses for the firm.

It followed a worrying start to the year for local workers, with staff at the company’s Torrington Avenue parts division being balloted for strike action in a dispute over performance-related pay.

Yesterday’s cuts and closure plans were announced by bosses during a meeting with its worker representatives.

The company is trying to save £790million as it struggles to compete in Europe’s fiercely competitive car market.

It is suffering particularly amid a slump in sales in the recession-hit south of Europe. Its sales plunged 20 per cent in Europe in the first quarter.

[dutchman]

PSA Peugeot Citroen announces redundancies in Coventry



Coventry car firm PSA Peugeot Citroen has announced a wave of redundancies in the city.

The firm, which has sites in Tile Hill and Stoke, plans to axe a number of jobs as part of its plans to restructure the company.

Bosses would not confirm how many staff are set to lose their jobs, but have insisted they are currently only looking for voluntary redundancies.

Staff at the company’s Coventry head office were given the grim news earlier this week.

A spokesman for the firm said the process was in the ‘very early stages’ and added that consultations were taking place with staff.

Workers will be offered voluntary severance packages as part of an internal restructure of the PSA Group – which is the manufacturer of both Peugeot and Citroen brands.

In 2012, Coventry became the UK headquarters for Citroen, bringing the number of workers at the new base and its sister company Peugeot to 750 in the city.

During that same year, the struggling car maker secured crucial funding in what was described as the ‘most significant’ bail-out from the state.

The French government agreed to a €7billion rescue package to help the ailing car maker after it announced a new slump in sales.

The company claimed the state rescue for its financing arm, Banque PSA Finance, was crucial because it funds Peugeot and Citroen dealers and car loans.

The bail-out came after the company warned it faced a first-half loss of £553million that year.

Bosses at the French carmaker said it would close its Aulnay-sous-Bois factory near Paris, one of the biggest car plants in France, with the loss of 3,000 jobs. A further 1,400 workers were to be axed at its Rennes factory and 3,600 more in other French sites. Workers in the UK were unaffected.

[dutchman]

Peugeot Citroen in Coventry plans 150 job cuts, union says



French carmaker Peugeot Citroen is to shed 20% of its Warwickshire workforce, according to a senior union official.

Unite said it was told a fifth of the 750 workers based at three sites in Coventry, Tile Hill and Ryton, will go.

The company has cited restructuring for the decision and is hoping to achieve the cuts through voluntary redundancy.

Unite regional secretary Gerald Coyne said: "It's been a shock to say the least because in the UK market Peugeot is doing very nicely."

Mr Coyne said the union was told on Monday that a formal consultation period would be taking place.

The company has not so far commented to the BBC.

In February PSA Peugeot Citroen agreed an injection of cash by China's Dongfeng Motors who took a 14% stake in a move that further dilutes the Peugeot family's control.

It announced a major recovery plan in April with new chief executive Carlos Tavares unveiling plans to cut the model range by half and raise prices.

Peugeot closed its manufacturing plant at Ryton in Warwickshire in 2006, with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs.

[dutchman]

Peugeot Citroen in Coventry to cut 90 jobs

PSA Peugeot Citroen has said about 90 jobs are to be lost at a site in Coventry - not 150 as initially feared.

A spokesman for the firm said it hoped to achieve the reductions at the Pinley House base through voluntary redundancies.

Workers at the Tile Hill site would not be affected, the company said.

Unite said on Saturday it understood 20% of workers at both sites, which employ about 750 workers, would go.

"They had not indicated that Tile Hill was out of the equation," said Unite regional secretary Gerard Coyne.

"That's news to us. It gives us hope. We would have liked them to have clarified that from the start."

Peugeot said the 90 cuts would be split between Peugeot UK, Citroen UK and PAS Peugeot Citroen workers at Pinley House.

Company spokesman Andrew Didlick said: "This is part of a Europe-wide restructuring programme.

"We're taking the company forward and we have to restructure to keep the company competitive."

Mr Didlick said the firm had not decided what would happen if the cuts could not be achieved through voluntary redundancies.

Peugeot closed its manufacturing plant at Ryton in Warwickshire in 2006, with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs.