Union representatives at Stellantis’ French operations said this week that planned changes to the automaker’s industrial footprint risk sidelining French plants and thousands of workers as the company pivots toward electrification and software-driven vehicles. The warning came after management outlined a major revamp aimed at simplifying platforms, concentrating production and reallocating capital toward battery-electric vehicles and digital platforms.

“The risk is very real that France will be left behind in Stellantis’ industrial map,” said a union representative at a press briefing in Paris, calling for binding guarantees on investment and employment. The union did not give a precise projection of job losses but said “tens of thousands” of employees across assembly sites, suppliers and R&D could be affected if production is consolidated elsewhere in Europe or globally.

Stellantis, which owns marques including Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat and Jeep, said in a brief statement that it is engaged with social partners and the French government to manage the transition. “We are committed to a socially responsible transformation that secures industrial activity and employment across our European footprint,” a company spokesperson said, adding that decisions on plant assignments and investments are still being finalized.

The clash underscores the difficult balancing act facing large automakers as demand shifts rapidly toward electric vehicles. Industry executives say the transition requires concentrated investments in battery supply chains, new manufacturing tooling and software development—commitments that can favor fewer, larger production hubs. For national governments and unions, that concentration risks hollowing out established industrial regions.

France’s auto sector remains important: the industry supports hundreds of thousands of jobs directly and indirectly and accounts for a significant share of manufacturing output. French policymakers have repeatedly signaled a willingness to use instruments—including grants, state-backed loans and regulatory levers—to protect domestic industrial capacity, but the terms of any intervention will be politically and economically complex. A senior official in the French labor ministry said negotiations are under way and that “France will seek concrete guarantees” for investment and jobs, without elaborating.

Market and supplier implications are immediate. Suppliers tied to French plants could see output and order books shrink if production is relocated, compounding pressure on smaller firms already adapting to new components for EV powertrains. Analysts say uncertainty about plant assignments can also delay capital spending and slow the rollout of new models, with a knock-on for Stellantis’ ability to meet EV delivery targets and improve margins.

Longer term, the episode is part of a broader structural shift in the auto industry: consolidation of production, reconfiguration of supply chains around batteries and software ecosystems, and heightened competition for state-backed investment. European policymakers face a choice between tolerating market-driven restructuring and adopting more interventionist industrial strategies to retain capacity.

For workers and communities in France, the immediate demand from unions is clear: legally binding commitments or compensating measures that ensure retraining, redeployment and, where needed, fiscal support to cushion regions from dislocation. How Stellantis, unions and the French state reconcile those demands will shape the country’s industrial landscape in the decade ahead.