Amid widespread market struggles, French automaker Renault has announced plans to offer buyouts to 4,900 French employees and 1,100 workers in other European countries. The company, which has cut its 2009 sales target by 10%, hopes that offering buyouts will allow them to avoid involuntary layoffs later. A Confederation Generale du Travail spokesperson disagreed with this strategy however, saying that the problem is demand, not a surplus of employees, and that the company should focus instead on switching over to making affordable, in-demand vehicles. The union has called for a one-day protest strike, to take place tomorrow, and threatened further action within a few weeks.
See "Union plans a protest strike as Renault looks to cut 6,000 jobs through buyouts", David Jolly, The New York Times, September 9, 2008