While Cadillac is moving its headquarters to the heart of New York City, PSA Peugeot Citroën is reportedly considering moving its main offices from the center of Paris to a suburb.
According to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg, cost-cutting measures pushed in recent months by France’s largest automaker which resulted in many layoffs are forcing executives to follow suit and move from the prestigious but expensive location on Avenue de la Grande Armée to the Paris suburb of Poissy, near one of PSA’s plants.
Apparently, PSA Peugeot Citroën’s CEO Carlos Tavares presented the plan at a meeting of the company’s supervisory board, with unions expected to discuss the proposal in January. If approved, the move would happen progressively and be completed by the end of 2016.
“We’ve launched a study to evaluate several options to better manage our real estate assets and improve the working conditions of our employees” at the headquarters, said Jean-Baptiste Thomas, a Peugeot spokesman. “No decision has been made yet,” he added.
As you probably know, PSA Peugeot Citroën no longer owns the headquarters building, after selling it for €245.5 million ($306 million) in 2012. At the time, the automaker said it would lease back the offices for at least nine years.
The building is located about 700 meters from the Arc de Triomphe and provides space for about 1,500 employees who work mainly in administration and finance. The place is said to cost about €50 million ($61.6 million) a year in rent and operating expenses.
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