Avis Europe is cutting 315 jobs as it battens down the hatches for tougher time ahead.
The car rental giant, which has outlets across Europe and the Middle East, said that volumes have noticeably weakened in the fourth quarter. Chief executive, Pascal Bazin, warned of “continued difficult conditions” in 2009 and beyond.
The losses amount to 5% of its workforce and are likely to be split between the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany. Up to 100 jobs in the UK could go, including some at its European headquarters in Bracknell, Berkshire.

The company said the average rent per day it achieves on cars has fallen in the second half of the year, compared with the same period in 2007.

The cost of redundancies and scaling back its property portfolio will result in a one-off cost of €23m.

Avis also plans to close some operations in markets where rental margins are low. This is likely to hit services in Spain, as well as France and Italy.
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