Renault flips on corporate espionage case
PARIS, April 11 (UPI) — French automaker Renault SA said it had reached tentative settlements with three improperly fired executives, but others could lose jobs due to the scandal.
The scandal began in January, when the company said it had evidence three executives in its electric car division had been paid to leak information. The company has since said it had been scammed and paid for fraudulent information that implicated the executives, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
After a director’s meeting Monday in which Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn was reported to have apologized to board members, Renault said second in command, Chief Operating Officer Patrick Pelata, would be reassigned and three officials in the firm’s internal security office would now be subjected to disciplinary action.
Chief legal counsel Christian Husson, corporate secretary Laurence Dors and senior executive Jean-Yves Coudriou were all suspended, the firm said.
Renault said it had reached preliminary settlements with Michel Balthazard, Matthieu Tenenbaum and Bertrand Rochette, the three who were fired in January, and with Philippe Clogenson, an executive wrongfully dismissed in 2009.
French authorities are investigating the fraud concerning the purchase of false information, the newspaper said.