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Posts tagged industry minister
Renault, French unions close to labor deal: minister
Mar 3rd
PARIS (Reuters) – Renault and French unions could clinch a labor agreement within days, France's industry minister said on Sunday, as the car maker tries to boost its competitiveness in the face of tumbling sales in its home market. Renault wants unions to accept measures including about 8,000 job cuts over three years and moving workers between sites. Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, who is attempting to stem a wave of layoffs and plant closures as jobless claims in France reach 15-year highs, said in a broadcast interview that both sides had made concessions. …
Report: US tire company CEO lashes out at French workers
Feb 21st
Filed under: Etc., Europe, Plants/Manufacturing
Maurice Taylor has a sour opinion of French factory workers. The CEO of Titan International, a US-based tire company, recently sent a letter to France’s industry minister saying that he had no interest in purchasing the faltering Goodyear Amiens Nord tire plant in the country. According to Bloomberg, the French press got a hold of the letter and now Taylor’s comments are out in the open air. The executive, known as “The Grizz” for his bear-like style, threw a few choice gems at country’s industry in general, saying, “The French workforce gets paid high wages but works only three hours. They get one hour for breaks and lunch, talk for three and work for three.”
Taylor (shown at left) went on to say his company plans to purchase a Chinese or Indian tire company, pay less than one euro per hour and ship every tire France needs, adding, “you can keep your so-called workers.” The company manufactures agricultural and other off-road tires.
France, meanwhile, has said it will respond to Taylor’s comments, but has yet to do so.
US tire company CEO lashes out at French workers originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Analysis: Pan-African airline dream faces tough take-off
Jun 7th
DAKAR (Reuters) – Gervais Djondo is a man with a dream. The former industry minister of the west African state of Togo has set himself a mission to create a pan-African airline serving the continent, an elusive goal since a previous venture, Air Afrique, collapsed under a pile of debt in 2002. Africa's aviation market is set to soar in the coming years, powered by the resource-rich continent's robust economic growth and burgeoning consumer market, which are multiplying business and leisure travel. …
Mauritius seeks new markets, sees exports up 6 pct
Jan 12th
PORT LOUIS, Jan 12 (Reuters) – The euro zone crisis,
coupled with slow global recovery, especially in the United
Sates, is boosting Mauritius’ aim to diversify into emerging and
regional markets, its industry minister said on Thursday.
Renault-Nissan’s electric vehicle investments already exceed $5.6 billion
Sep 8th
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan, Renault
Renault-Nissan chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn says his companies have invested a combined four billion euros ($5.6 billion U.S. at the current exchange rate) into electric vehicle technology – with even more electric tech spending to come. As Ghosn told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of a meeting organized by the French industry minister, “We have already invested euro 4 billion, and we will be above that as we have development still to do.”
Ghosn’s goal is to have Renault-Nissan become the worldwide leaders in the electric vehicle segment and the bullish Ghosn says the Alliance is still sticking to its projection that electric vehicles will represent 10 percent of global automobile sales by 2020. That figure has been considered too high by some industry analysts, but Ghosn remains, as ever, bullishly optimistic.
Renault-Nissan’s electric vehicle investments already exceed $5.6 billion originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 08 Sep 2011 07:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Renault taps Nissan executive as new COO
May 30th
PARIS (AP) — French automaker Renault SA named a top executive of Nissan Americas as its new chief operating officer on Monday, in an effort to move on from an embarrassing scandal around false accusations of espionage.
The partially state-owned French car maker said Carlos Tavares, head of operations at the U.S. division of Renault partner Nissan, will take up the post immediately.
In a statement, Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of both Renault and Nissan, called the appointment of longtime Renault veteran Tavares “a first step in strengthening Renault’s management.”
Also Monday, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. said Colin Dodge, its chief performance officer and chairman of Africa, Middle East, India and Europe, will take on the Americas post that had been held by Tavares.
Renault in April announced a wide-scale corporate shakeout — including the ouster of Patrick Pelata from the COO post — over a scandal over false accusations against three executives for espionage.
When the scandal was made public early this year, Pelata accused the three executives of masterminding an “organized, international network” to obtain information on Renault’s flagship electric car program.
The three were suspended Jan. 11 after Renault announced it had discovered signs of espionage and proof the men had received “funds from a foreign source,” and accused them of selling strategic information.
The executives had strongly denied the allegations and investigators could not verify them. Renault sent a deep apology to the wrongly accused employees in March.
Three of Renault’s top security officers and its legal counsel lost their jobs in the scandal, and Ghosn responded by announcing that he would waive all stock option benefits for this year and bonuses for 2010.
The three wrongly accused executives have since reached settlements with Renault, which the car maker did not make public.
Shortly after the scandal broke, Industry Minister Eric Besson spoke openly of “economic warfare” against one of France’s top industrial giants — and one lawmaker from French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party floated an unspecified “Chinese buyer” connection on French radio.
China’s foreign ministry rejected that allegation by Bernard Carayon, a conservative UMP party lawmaker, as “totally groundless, irresponsible and unacceptable.”
Renault taps Nissan executive as new COO
May 30th
PARIS (AP) — French automaker Renault SA named a top executive of Nissan Americas as its new chief operating officer on Monday, in an effort to move on from an embarrassing scandal around false accusations of espionage.
The partially state-owned French car maker said Carlos Tavares, head of operations at the U.S. division of Renault partner Nissan, will take up the post immediately.
In a statement, Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of both Renault and Nissan, called the appointment of longtime Renault veteran Tavares “a first step in strengthening Renault’s management.”
Also Monday, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. said Colin Dodge, its chief performance officer and chairman of Africa, Middle East, India and Europe, will take on the Americas post that had been held by Tavares.
Renault in April announced a wide-scale corporate shakeout — including the ouster of Patrick Pelata from the COO post — over a scandal over false accusations against three executives for espionage.
When the scandal was made public early this year, Pelata accused the three executives of masterminding an “organized, international network” to obtain information on Renault’s flagship electric car program.
The three were suspended Jan. 11 after Renault announced it had discovered signs of espionage and proof the men had received “funds from a foreign source,” and accused them of selling strategic information.
The executives had strongly denied the allegations and investigators could not verify them. Renault sent a deep apology to the wrongly accused employees in March.
Three of Renault’s top security officers and its legal counsel lost their jobs in the scandal, and Ghosn responded by announcing that he would waive all stock option benefits for this year and bonuses for 2010.
The three wrongly accused executives have since reached settlements with Renault, which the car maker did not make public.
Shortly after the scandal broke, Industry Minister Eric Besson spoke openly of “economic warfare” against one of France’s top industrial giants — and one lawmaker from French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party floated an unspecified “Chinese buyer” connection on French radio.
China’s foreign ministry rejected that allegation by Bernard Carayon, a conservative UMP party lawmaker, as “totally groundless, irresponsible and unacceptable.”
French government doesn’t want to "destabilize" Renault, eases pressure on Ghosn
Mar 25th
Filed under: China, Europe, Government/Legal, Nissan, Renault
The situation at Renault/Nissan has been a bit of a mess lately. Nissan’s sales have been lackluster, with extra incentives needed to move metal. French investors have recently shot down CEO Carlos Ghosn’s six-year plan for Renault.
Then there is the espionage case that rocked Renault. The case, which involved the alleged stealing of electric vehicle know-how, led to the firing of three Renault execs and an accusation by the French government aimed at China. After some investigating, though, it became clear that the espionage case was really a fraud case, and the only crime committed was a false accusation. Talk about your national embarrassment.
In light of all of Renault/Nissan’s troubles, it’s not surprising that some are interested in the head of Mr. Ghosn, but French Industry Minister Eric Besson says it’s not happening. Automotive News reports that Besson told a French radio station that he hears the call for punishment, but “the industry minister’s greater concern at this time is not to destabilize Renault any further.” Besson then pointed out all the good things Ghosn has done during his time with the company, and added that the company faces challenges launching its electric vehicles.
It appears Ghosn is getting a pass for the company’s recent troubles, but we’re guessing that the leader’s leash is a bit tighter than it was a couple years ago.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]
French government doesn’t want to “destabilize” Renault, eases pressure on Ghosn originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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French minister lessens pressure on Ghosn in Renault spy case
Mar 22nd
Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, Nissan, Renault, Europe/EU, China
Carlos Ghosn at the Nissan Leaf battery plant groundbreaking – Click above for high-res image gallery
Last week, Renault‘s chief executive officer, Carlos Ghosn, came under fire when France’s Socialist Party boss, Martine Aubry told France Info radio that Ghosn should take responsibility for the Renault “spy” case, saying that:
When an employee makes a mistake in a company, he does not have to apologize – he is out.
On Sunday, French industry minister, Eric Besson, eased the pressure on Ghosn a bit. When asked by RFI radio if Ghosn should resign over the debunked espionage scandal, Besson sort of dodged the question and he stated that the government does not want to destabilize Renault. Besson said that Ghosn played a pivotal role in establishing the alliance between Renault and Nissan and is now faced with major challenges tied to the launch of numerous electric vehicles.
On a related note, China, a nation previously thought to be involved in the Renault “spy” case, has, according to Reuters, expressed its utter disapproval of France’s handling of the matter, saying that facts must be checked before implicating a nation.
Photos by Sebastian Blanco / Copyright (C)2010 AOL
[Source: Reuters]
French minister lessens pressure on Ghosn in Renault spy case originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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French government to deal with those responsible in Renault "spy" case
Mar 17th
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan, Renault, Europe/EU, China
On Thursday, France’s finance and industry ministers issued a statement declaring that the fate of the individuals responsible for Renault‘s ongoing debacle lies in the hands of the country’s government. France, which owns 15 percent of Renault, has called for a widespread investigation into the now-debunked claims that three Renault execs were possibly spying on the automaker.
Shortly after meeting with Renault’s chief executive officer, Carlos Ghosn, finance minister Christine Lagarde and industry minister Eric Besson issued this joint statement on behalf of France’s government:
The ministers underscored that they will pay close attention to organizational reform and individual responsibility [at Renault] based on the result of the audit.
According to the ministers, this ordeal has embarrassed the nation and France’s government will see to it that those who played a role in this distressing fiasco are dealt with.
[Source: Reuters | Image: fdecomite - C.C. License 2.0]
French government to deal with those responsible in Renault “spy” case originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 14:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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