Designing cars should be fun. Apparently, at Renault it isn’t…
French authorities are beginning an investigation into working conditions at Renault’s technical design center, following three suicides among the workforce there.
All three have occured since October, when one worker jumped to his death from the fifth floor of the complex’s main building. Another worker drowned himself in January, and most recently, an employee hung himself at his home leaving a suicide note blaming difficulties at work for his demise.
The CFDT workers union has issued a statement outlining how Renault’s recent restructuring has led to increased pressure among the workers, enough apparently to push some over the edge. The union urged the company to evaluate the working conditions of its employees, which must be incredibly stressful.
As Renault has recently seen a drop in profits due to an aging lineup and rising costs for raw materials, one can only imagine that the pressure to perform is increasing. Renault, for its part, has said it will look into how these deaths could have been prevented.
