Although there is much optimism in some regions of France, particularly in the north of the country where the "Battery Valley" is emerging, workers at parts suppliers in other regions are pessimistic.
With the sale of new cars with petrol and diesel engines only allowed for the next decade in Europe, the industry, which employs 200,000 people in France, is facing a forced march towards change.
"The transition (to electric cars) could have been done when Walor bought us, but they didn't invest," said Severin Persson, a quality control expert at the company's Vousier plant.
Walor bought the business in 2018. Its production of tractor and truck hinges is not threatened by the shift to electric vehicles, but demand for transmission differential housings and engine manifolds is likely to see major changes.
Walor was bought last year by a German fund specializing in restructuring distressed companies and is looking to sell the site in Vousier and another nearby.
"Before Citroen distributed the work to everyone in the Ardennes. They didn't go to the other side of the world to get parts," said Bruno Bodson, shop manager at the CFDT union.
Persson and her colleagues have come to terms with the possible closure of the factory given the drop in orders.
But the mood is different in the north of the country, where a number of battery "gigafactories" are being built, including that of the Automotive Cells Company (ACC) in Douvrin
The joint venture includes carmakers Stellantis and Mercedes, as well as French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies.
ACC built its massive battery plant on the site of a factory that makes engines for Stellantis, whose cars include French brands Citroen and Peugeot.
Stellantis said "the location was chosen in response to the social need" to retrain the plant's employees. The number of employees has fallen from about 5,000 in the 1980s to 700 today.
At the joint venture's battery training center, Stellantis-Douvrin employees receive 12 weeks of training on how to control the highly automated production lines at the battery plant. | BGNES
