The board of PSA Peugeot Citroen has sacked chief executive Christian Streiff over the weekend.

His replacement is Philippe Varin, a currently chief executive of steel group Corus, who takes the position on June 1. Board member Roland Vardenega assumes the CEO responsibilities until that date.

The French carmaker reported a 343m euro net loss last month.

“The board unanimously judged that the exceptional difficulties faced by the auto industry imposed a change of management,” chairman Thierry Peugeot said in a statement.