Renault and Stellantis retrain staff against logistics shortages

Logistical problems are not new, but the corona pandemic made them topical again and they remain so due to the war in Ukraine. A significant proportion of European truck drivers come from Ukraine, but are not available for work due to the war. Result: the logistical problems that Stellantis and Renault – but also, for example, the Volkswagen Group – are experiencing in Europe, are not yet over. Most car manufacturers indicate that the stability of parts deliveries has improved after, among other things, the chip shortages, but the logistics for end products remain a thorny issue. As a result, there are thousands of new cars from different factories scattered across Europe, all of which still need to be transported to dealerships.

That is why Stellantis and Renault are now taking action, according to reports from Bloomberg and Automotive News Europe. Renault works together with an employment agency to retrain its own employees to become truck drivers, Stellantis itself recruits its staff by mailing it and hanging posters in its factories in Spain, Italy and France. Reportedly, 140 Stellantis factory workers have already applied to retrain as truck drivers, with the option of returning to work at the factory later or staying on as truck drivers. By addressing its own workforce, Stellantis, among others, wants to solve the logistical problems more quickly, so that the number of cars still to be delivered does not increase any further. In addition, the group wants to prevent delivery times from getting longer again, now that they are starting to limit themselves again in some cases.