Insee: French Auto Employment Has Fallen One-Third Since 2010

Overview

• The automotive industrial chain shed about 139,000 full‑time equivalent jobs from 2010 to 2023, dropping to 286,800 even as non‑auto manufacturing was roughly flat at −1%, Insee reports.
• Automakers cut French payrolls 35% to 85,400 as groups prioritized production in Eastern and Southern Europe as well as Morocco and Turkey.
• Suppliers reduced headcount 31.5% to 201,400, with many continuing to export components to follow French assemblers’ overseas plants rather than relocating themselves.
• Input industries serving the sector were heavily hit, including rubber and plastics (−43%), metallurgy (−42%), metal products (−27%) and chemistry (−29%), while battery jobs increased.
• Since 2023 the downturn has quickened, with Michelin, Valeo, Forvia, Bosch, Lisi and Dumarey announcing closures of sites in France, and Insee finds no clear employment boost yet from the EV transition as three quarters of suppliers already serve electric models.