Visiting the Votat company, specializing in metal parts for the automotive industry, in Pont-Sainte-Maxence (Oise), the Minister responsible for industry, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, was to announce, Thursday, December 16, a support plan in the transition of the automobile, subcontractors, employees and regions, as part of the France 2030 investment plan. A new support fund for the diversification of subcontracting companies, endowed with of several hundreds of millions of euros, will notably be put in place.
These announcements come as alerts multiply on the situation of French automotive suppliers and suppliers. First of all, the closures of sites bear witness to this. That of the SAM foundry in Decazeville (Aveyron), approved at the end of November. But also, less publicized, that to come from the Mahle factory, which manufactures bearings for heat engines and employs 110 people in Chavanod (Haute-Savoie), and Benteler, 400 employees who manufacture chassis and mechanical parts in Migennes (Yonne ). They hope for a buyer.
Before them, the Fonte du Poitou foundries in Ingrandes (Vienne) and MBF Aluminum in Saint-Claude (Jura), or the Borgwarner factory in Eyrein (Corrèze) closed their doors. Others have reduced their workforce: the agreement signed on December 9 at Bosch, in Rodez (Aveyron), confirms the elimination of 750 jobs, out of 1,250.
Worst year since the 2009 crisis
According to data compiled by the Trendeo firm, 2,865 jobs have been cut in French automotive subcontractors since the start of 2021. Worst year since the 2009 crisis.
At the same time, concerns are emerging, as at LSI (ex-GM & S) in La Souterraine (Creuse), or Marelli Automotive Lighting, in Saint-Julien-du-Sault (Yonne) whose employees went on strike for a week. There are many more. “Many subcontractors, who are quite discreet, tell us: “We will not be able to hold out!” “, alerted LRM deputy Guillaume Kasbarian, chairing the National Assembly’s commission of inquiry on deindustrialisation, on November 4.
The acceleration of the switch from thermal to electric as part of the ecological transition has put the entire automotive sector under pressure. Not only does it threaten in the medium term the sites which produce parts directly related to the combustion engine if they do not manage to diversify, but it has a cost. More expensive to produce, hybrid and electric vehicles challenge manufacturers to find how to minimize the selling price to the consumer.
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