PARIS, July 24: French giant automaker Renault said on Thursday it will cut about 5,000 jobs in Europe among measures to reduce costs by 10 per cent as it prepares for a sharp and possibly rocky downturn.

“We can see in the second half of this year and going into 2009 a sharper slowdown on the European markets,” Renault chairman Carlos Ghosn said as the company announced strong first-half figures and the loss of 5,000 jobs in Europe.

“Renault must be prepared for a period ahead which risks being turbulent,” he said. Ghosn said the company expected sharp fall in sales.—AFP