Dunstable jobs threat
Page 10
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
/ Renault Truck Industries is reviewing its assembly operations at Dunstable in the aftermath of last year's £18.6m loss.
Thirty five jobs are to be axed following the completion of a £20m contract with Reynolds Boughton to supply 846 fourwheel-drive trucks to the Ministry of Defence. The MoD has decided not to take up an option to buy an extra 160 vehicles.
The job cuts will hit shop floor workers and production administration staff.
Renault says it has to cut costs because there is no sign of an upturn in the civilian and export military markets. Its market share fell to 4.3% in the first half of this year, compared with 6.1% in the same period last year.
The vehicle engineering and parts operations are not affected by the review.
Last year's losses were incurred despite a £20m cash injection from parent company Renault Vehicules IndustrieIs. They were a slight improvement on 1990 when Renault Truck Industries lost £20.8m. In 1990 RTI cut its workforce by 300; the current workforce figure is 517. The European division of RVI, which includes RI!, has suffered declining profits during the first six months of the year. Mack Trucks in the US cut its losses from £56.6m ($102m) in 1991 to £46.1 ($83m) last year.