According to a report released Thursday by the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), the workforce in the country's automotive industry diminished by a third between 2010 and 2023.
This includes manufacturers, equipment makers and other suppliers, with the bulk of the disruption being caused by car manufacturers who cut 46,000 jobs during the 13-year period observed in the study.
Falling sales due to Chinese competition, among other factors, exacerbated the issue and led to consequent factory closures and relocations.
Renault and Stellantis, which includes over a dozen car brands such as Citroën, Fiat and Peugeot, set up operations in other parts of Europe where labour is cheaper such as Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Portugal and Slovakia.
The research conducted by the INSEE was the first to identify all types of industrial production related to the French automotive sector and depicts a bleak scenario.
The data becomes far worse when contrasted with the numbers from the non-automotive industry, where the workforce remained stable with only a 1% decrease.
Dire future for the French automotive industry
The contraction and consequent relocation of the French car manufacturing business has negatively affected several associated industries in the country and since 2023 the trend has only accelerated.
Parts suppliers in France were even more impacted by the relocation of the car manufacturers, with equipment and component makers reducing their workforce in the country by 31.5%, representing a loss of 92,700 full-time jobs.
Additionally, Michelin, Valeo, Forvia, Bosch, Lisi and Dumarey are all in the process of closing sites in France.
The contrast is stark between the jobs dependent on the success of the French automotive industry and the employment numbers for the non-associated sections of the same industrial sectors.
Manufacturers of rubber and plastics for the automotive industry have lost 43% of their workforce, while those outside the automotive sector only saw a 3% decline.
The same disparity can be observed in the metallurgy sector, where a 42% decrease in jobs was noted for car-related production but, again, only a 3% decline in employment for other parts of the same sector.
For metal products there is a 27% fall in the automotive-based sector but jobs are virtually stable in other areas.
Even more striking, in chemicals there is a 29% decline in employment for automotives but a 19% increase in jobs servicing other businesses.
Ultimately, these clear-cut disparities underscore a deepening structural crisis, illustrating how the French automotive sector is rapidly decoupling from the stability of the broader industrial landscape, with no signs of recovery and many indicators of aggravation.
