France considers investing in struggling Peugeot

French Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac on Friday announced a possible state investment in PSA Peugeot Citroen to help the domestic leading car maker to bolster its financial assets and reduce planned job cuts. Asked by BFMTV news channel if the government could take stake in PSA, the minister said, "It's possible." "This company must not and cannot disappear and we must do what it takes for this company to survive," he stressed. Last year, the No. 1 auto manufacturer in the country said it will cut 8,000 jobs in France as part of a restructuring plan to compensate for losses and poor demands in the European market. As part of a plan to inject dynamism into the struggling car maker, the government pledged 7 billion euros of guarantees to beef up the group's finance arm PSA Finance Bank. Adding to that, it said to appoint government and worker representatives to group's board with the aim to offer more liquidity to the bank and provide cheaper loans to car buyers. (1 euro = 1.341 U.S. dollar)