After the PSA Peugeot Citroen group
announced 8,000 jobs would be lost and one car-building factory would
be closed last week, the Citroen Total World Rally Team have
announced that the cuts will not impact on their WRC programme.
The company will close their
car-manufacturing plant in Aulnay, near Paris, by 2014. The plant
employs more than 3,000 people. However the French government have
said they will ensure Peugeot help find new jobs for all the affected
workers. A second factory in Rennes will shed 25% of it's 5,600
strong workforce.
"The announcement of last week
won't impact our WRC programme. However, we are doing our best to
look at options to reduce the financial support of the brand in our
sporting package." said a spokesperson from Citroen Racing.
Immediate concern arose within the
rallying world that Citroen's phenomenally successful rallying
programme, which has won the manufacturer's title seven times, eight
consecutive drivers' titles (thanks to Sebastian Loeb) and 80
individual wins. Citroen is also the only manufacturer to win Rally
Deutschland since it's first running!
Peugeot's endurance racing programme
was cut at the start of this year, another successful programme. Cost
cutting was sited as the reason, and even then concern arose for
Citroen's programme.
Currently, Citroen WRT have contracts
with four drivers, being Sebastian Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen in the
works team, and Theirry Neuville and Nasser Al-Attiyah in their
respective satellite teams.
At this point in the championship, both
Citroen and Loeb lead their respective championship's. Loeb leads the
drivers championship by 38 points, and Citroen lead the
manufacturers' championship by 96 points.
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