Sacré Bleu! PSA Mulling Moving Paris Headquarters to Cut Costs

9 years, 10 months ago - 18 December 2014, Autoblog

PSA Peugeot Citroën has been based in its current offices, located less than half a mile from the iconic Arc de Triomphe in Paris, for a half century now. But the latest word has it that the French automaker is planning on leaving the historic location as part of its plans to cut costs.

According to Bloomberg, chief executive Carlos Tavares recently presented a plan to the company's supervisory board to abandon 75 Avenue de la Grande Armée for a new location about an hour away from the city. The headquarters would be moved to the company's assembly near Poissy, while around 500 of the 1,500 employees based at the headquarters would be moved elsewhere in the French capital.

The automaker – which produces vehicles under the Peugeot, Citroën and recently emancipated DS brands – is in the midst of a massive restructuring plan. It sold part of its shares to the French government and part to Chinese automaker Dongfeng at the expense of the founding Peugeot family, and named new top executives, including Tavares and board chairman Louis Gallois, formerly of Airbus, pictured above in front of the headquarters building.

The aforementioned restructuring also resulted in PSA sell the building in question back in 2012 for over $300 million – it has been leasing it back for 50 million euros (>$60M) per year. If the move goes ahead, it would be implemented gradually through the end of 2016.