French automaker Renault Group is planning to cut 800 engineering jobs in France by ​the end of 2027 in a bid to make its organisation ‌leaner to better compete with Chinese rivals.

Chinese makers have more than tripled their market share in Europe over the past two years, with technologically advanced products and very competitive prices, Philippe Brunet, Renault's chief technology officer, told reporters on a conference call.

"All other manufacturers are suffering, ⁠the Koreans, the Japanese in Europe, or other Europeans, including us," ​he added. "We must be able to compete against this."

With a workforce of ​5,500, France accounts for half of Renault's global engineering staff. In mid-April, Renault, one of the smallest legacy car makers, said it planned to reduce its total engineering workforce by 15% to 20% by the end of 2027, and that the 800 job cuts would be part of that move.

The company expects to get its transformation plan approved by unions in July and to implement it from September. It would also include retraining 2,500 workers and hiring between 150 and 200 new workers to work mainly on electrifying vehicles, software, and artificial intelligence.

Brunet also announced an overhaul of the organisation and working methods to simplify R&D operations and become more agile in the race against Chinese competitors, who have set a new benchmark by developing models in just two years, down from the four to five years traditionally required in the industry.

"My issue is speed," he said.

He intends to reduce the complexity and number of steps in a vehicle project and decrease the time spent in meetings by 20%.