France Loses One in Three Car Manufacturing Jobs in 13 Years
One out of every three car manufacturing jobs in France has disappeared over the past 13 years, showing a serious decline in the country’s automotive industry.
The number of people working in the French car industry fell from 425,500 in 2010 to 286,800 in 2023. This means nearly 139,000 full-time jobs were lost, a drop of about 33%. The figures come from a report published by INSEE (the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies). The report shows that the workforce in the automotive sector decreased by one-third between 2010 and 2023.
The study includes car manufacturers, equipment makers, and other suppliers. Most of the job losses happened at car manufacturing companies themselves, which cut around 46,000 positions during this period.
Several reasons explain this decline. One major factor is falling car sales, partly due to strong competition from Chinese car companies. As competition increased, some French factories closed or moved to other countries. Large carmakers like Renault and Stellantis moved part of their production to countries where labour costs are lower. These countries include Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Portugal, and Slovakia.
The INSEE research is the first to fully measure all types of industrial production linked to the French automotive sector. The results show a very worrying situation. When compared to other industries in France that are not linked to cars, the difference is clear. In non-automotive industries, employment stayed almost stable, with only a 1% drop over the same period.
The situation looks even more serious for companies that supply parts to carmakers. Parts and equipment suppliers in France cut their workforce by 31.5%, losing around 92,700 full-time jobs. Many well-known companies are also closing sites in France. These include Michelin, Valeo, Forvia, Bosch, Lisi, and Dumarey.
Several industrial sectors connected to car production have been hit much harder than other parts of the same sectors. For example, companies making rubber and plastic products for cars lost 43% of their jobs, while similar companies working outside the car industry saw only a 3% decrease.
In the metallurgy sector, jobs linked to car production fell by 42%. However, other metallurgy businesses not connected to cars recorded only a 3% drop. The same pattern appears in metal products, where automotive-related jobs fell by 27%, but other areas remained almost stable.
The chemical industry shows an even bigger contrast. Jobs connected to automotive production fell by 29%, while employment in chemicals serving other industries actually increased by 19%.
These clear differences show a deep structural crisis in the French automotive sector. While other industrial areas in France remain mostly stable, the car industry is shrinking quickly. There are currently no clear signs of recovery, and many indicators suggest the situation could become even worse in the future.
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