AvtoVAZ seeks cash for workers
AvtoVAZ, Russia’s largest carmaker, intends to apply for a 10-year credit line worth 12bn roubles (£249m) to help compensate workers it has let go, according to local press reports. The loan will be interest-free until 2015. The reports did not say where AvtoVAZ, which is part-owned by French car maker Renault, hoped to obtain the loans. AvtoVAZ, maker of the Lada marque of car, has agreed with trade union leaders to slash a quarter of its workforce as the economic crisis has halved car sales in Russia.