French Auto Industry Cuts Over 30% of Workforce in 13 Years as Offshoring Deepens Structural Crisis

Between 2010 and 2023, employment in France's automotive sector plummeted by more than one-third, with vehicle manufacturers cutting 46,000 jobs and the parts and supplier sectors losing an additional 92,700 full-time positions. Facing intensifying competition from China and declining sales, automakers such as Renault and Stellantis have shifted production capacity to lower-cost countries in Eastern and Southern Europe. According to France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), the entire automotive supply chain has undergone significant contraction: employment in supporting industries—including rubber and plastics, metallurgy, metal products, and chemicals—fell by 43%, 42%, 27%, and 29%, respectively. Meanwhile, employment in non-automotive sectors remained largely stable or even grew during the same period. This trend has accelerated since 2023, highlighting a deepening structural crisis in France’s automotive industry, which is increasingly decoupling from the broader industrial ecosystem.