There was more bad news for France's ailing car industry on Tuesday when Renault announced it would be slashing its staff numbers by 7,500 by 2016.

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The company will shed 5,700 jobs through natural attrition, with the balance coming from the extension of an early retirement programme subject to agreement with unions, a spokesman said.

Renault insists it has no plans to make any staff redundant as part of the cutbacks.

The manufacturer has also said it has no desire to close down any car plant but much will depend on whether trade unions will back the plan.

"If an agreement is signed with unions, this staff redeployment would require neither a plant closure or a voluntary redundancy programme," said Gerard Leclercq, head of Renault's French operations.

Renault's current workforce in France stands at 44,642, making the job cuts announced on Tuesday equivalent to a 17 percent reduction in staff numbers.

The announcement is a further blow to France's once towering automobile industry, which is still reeling after PSA Peugeot Citroen announced it would be cutting 8,000 jobs, including the closure of an iconic plant at Aulnay-Sous-Bois to the north of Paris.

The job cuts come after the country’s leading car manufacturers have repeatedly posted disastrous sales figures.

Data for November last year revealed sales by PSA Peugeot Citroen, the second-biggest European auto manufacturer, dropped 22.9 percent, and those by Renault plunged 33.5 percent.