RENAULT HAS accepted Patrick Pelata’s resignation from his post as the French car maker’s second- in-command over a botched espionage investigation that led to the wrongful dismissal of three senior managers.
Mr Pelata will stay on temporarily as chief operating officer before moving to a role within the Renault’s alliance with Nissan, the French company said yesterday.
The board of directors also agreed at an emergency meeting on the departure of Laurence Dors, the company’s general secretary; human resources manager Jean-Yves Coudriou; legal director Christian Husson and director of security Remi Pagnie.
Renault admitted last month it was tricked into wrongfully firing three executives after a company investigation incorrectly concluded they had received payments from Chinese companies.
Security manager Dominique Gevrey, who obtained more than €300,000 from the car maker to pay an anonymous source for the information, was arrested on fraud charges after the espionage claims unravelled.
Renault’s board examined the findings of an audit ordered last month to establish the roles and responsibilities of executives involved in the spy case. – (Bloomberg)