PSA Peugeot Citroen is pouring cold water on suggestions it has requested State aid from the French government as rumours continue to surround its Aulnay plant.
The French automaker posted losses of US773m last year and is attempting to cut both costs and capacity in a bid to rationalise its European operations against a backdrop of weakening demand across the Continent.
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PSA has already announced it will look to group operations in Switzerland, Germany and the UK such as sales, administration, after-sales and marketing, although these have to be finalised with unions.
However, rumours in France are circulating the automaker has now turned to the government for help – a situation PSA strenuously refutes.
“We deny having asked for a loan from the French State and the State having received a demand from us,” a PSA spokeswoman told just-auto from Paris.”
What is clear however, is the newly-installed French government – backed by a recently mandated and left-leaning Parliament – is looking at the automotive industry closely as potential job implications come to the fore in both the OEM and supply sectors.
But in a rare joint statement, both the Finance Minister, Pierre Moscovici and his Industry counterpart, Arnaud Montebourg, are also joining PSA in distancing themselves from any financial request from the manufacturer.
“Pierre Moscovici and Arnaud Montebourg deny the rumours, according to which PSA Peugeot Citroen has asked the government for a loan or equity participation,” said a statement from both Ministers.
French unions have been twitchy about the Aulnay plant for some time, raising concerns PSA could wield the axe on its near 3,500-strong workforce producing the C3 model.
The hard-line CGT labour body has asked PSA to sign a deal safeguarding all posts at Aulnay until at least 2016 and securing a new vehicle to the site.
The CFE-CGC union says it met PSA CEO, Philippe Varin, recently to discuss its own concerns surrounding Aulnay and has asked the Industry Minister to examine the situation.
Neither the CFE-CGC nor the CGT unions were immediately available for comment.
