Alstom French government employment commitment and production delays, Digi Mart USA News (France): France’s Minister of Economy, Roland Lescure, said Wednesday that the state “stands alongside Alstom” but will be “extremely demanding” about employment in France. His remarks came two days after the French rail group reported a new industrial setback.
In Charente-Maritime, Alstom is the largest private employer in the department. Its Aytré site, in the La Rochelle urban area and one of the group’s 14 industrial sites in France, has 1,600 employees, 300 temporary workers and 600 contractors.
By size and workforce, it is the department’s largest industrial site.
The world’s second-largest rail manufacturer announced on Monday, November 2, 2026, a drastic cut to its annual forecasts after weak first-half results. The company cited production difficulties on its Coradia Max regional train program for Germany.
Lescure said Wednesday, November 4, during questions to the government in the Senate, that the state is supporting Alstom, notably through its shareholding. He noted that the public investment bank Bpifrance, which holds a 7.5% stake, is playing “fully its role of support” on the board of directors.
“But we will also be extremely demanding on employment in France: it is out of the question for issues arising elsewhere in the world to have a direct impact” on the group’s 14 French sites, particularly in Valenciennes, Belfort or La Rochelle, he said.
The manufacturer holds a record order backlog of 100 billion euros and plans to announce a new industrial organization in the second quarter of 2027, with first announcements as early as late 2026, to meet demand for trains worldwide. Industry Minister Sébastien Martin will follow the matter closely, Lescure said.
Alstom’s shares fell sharply on Monday after its second profit warning of the year. For the current 2026-2027 fiscal year, Alstom now expects to produce only 4,000 cars, down from 4,400 to 4,500 previously expected.
Chief Financial Officer Bernard Delpit told analysts that two-thirds of the production shortfall relates to two of the six Coradia Max regional train contracts signed with German states.
Lescure said Wednesday that Alstom’s delivery problems “are not new,” and that the new management team’s job is to address them. In April, the group had already lowered its performance targets and suffered an initial stock decline shortly after Martin Sion succeeded Henri Poupart-Lafarge.
Sion said Monday that since his appointment as chief executive in April 2026, he had requested rigorous identification and systematic reporting of project risks and opportunities, mobilizing dedicated Alstom experts on the most critical projects, including Coradia Max.
