"If an agreement is signed with unions, this staff redeployment would require neither a plant closure or a voluntary redundancy programme, " Gerard Leclercq, head of Renault's French operations, told AFP.

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But several long-serving employees said the company was avoiding hefty redundancy pay-offs by putting them into a pool of staff awaiting redeployment.

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The BBC said it was working with staff and unions to seek redeployment of staff wherever possible, and talks were ongoing.

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