Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India (RNTBCI), the tech capability centre of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, may lay off 5-10% of its workforce as part of a restructuring exercise. Sources familiar with the developments told Fe that the centre which has a total staff strength of 10,000, is looking at cutting the same by around 500-1,000.
The centre has outsourced some of its functions like finance, accounting, and supply chain management, to Genpact. As a result, it will focus only on its core engineering functions. Sources said that the core engineering staff will not be affected by the layoffs.
Mails seeking responses from RNTBCI and Genpact did not elicit any response till the time of going to the press.
RNTBCI serves as the global tech capability centre supporting Renault and Nissan operations worldwide. Renault holds a 51% stake in the company, while Nissan owns the remaining 49%. Established in 2007, it was among the first global capability centres in Chennai.
The main office of the centre is at Mahindra World City on the outskirts of Chennai. While additional offices are located in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
According to its website, RNTBCI’s workforce includes over 5,000 employees in core engineering, 2,800 in the vehicle department, and the remainder in global business operations, software technologies, and other functions.
The timing of this restructuring aligns with major upheavals at Nissan. The collapse of the Honda-Nissan merger in February derailed plans to create the world’s fourth-largest automaker, behind Toyota, Volkswagen, and Hyundai. With the deal off the table, Nissan now faces the challenge of revitalising its business independently.
In late 2023, Nissan Motor Co announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs globally and reduce manufacturing capacity by 20% to counter mounting losses and growing competition from Chinese automakers. So far, no Nissan group entities in India had been significantly affected.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance operates a manufacturing facility in Chennai — Renault Nissan Automotive India — which produces vehicles for both domestic and export markets.
