Accelerating the race to reskill Europe’s automotive workforce: ACEA and Adecco Group unveil landmark analysis

Brussels/Zurich, 13 January 2026 - The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) and the Adecco Group unveil "The race to reskill: Speeding up the European automotive workforce transition", a comprehensive new report mapping the urgent transformation of Europe's automotive workforce and providing actionable solutions for employers, policymakers and regional ecosystems.

The comprehensive analysis, which evaluates regional readiness across the European automotive ecosystem, finds that the shift to electrification and digitalization is fundamentally altering skills requirements: rapidly increasing demand for expertise in areas including software engineering, battery technology and advanced data analytics. By 2035, the sector will see a marked shift toward high-skilled engineering, IT and management roles. Crucially, while jobs requiring medium and low skills - such as metalworkers, clerks, and traditional craft roles - are projected for structural decline, the industry is simultaneously facing acute, immediate skill shortages in these very areas due to replacement demand and an aging workforce.

However, the study identifies a major vulnerability: a widespread failure to translate strategic skills needs into local, actionable workforce plans. The report reveals that HR management across many regional ecosystems is predominantly reactive, leading to significant internal inefficiencies and a heightened risk of unnecessary worker displacement. Crucially, while companies are focusing on new curricula, many are overlooking the operational elements vital for a successful transition. These "blind spots" include:

• Underutilization of production downtime: Companies are failing to leverage inevitable production shifts and downtime to conduct strategic reskilling and upskilling training.
• Disconnected ecosystems: Regional stakeholders, training providers, and employers operate in silos, preventing the creation of a unified, demand-driven talent pipeline.
• Cultural inertia/legacy mindset: Insufficient focus is placed on adapting workplace culture and integrating robust mentoring and outplacement systems to support workers transitioning into new roles, leaving many feeling uncertain and unsupported.
• Regional disparities: Workforce impacts will vary significantly across Europe. Regions in southern Germany, Central Bohemia, West Slovakia, and West Sweden are projected to see a drop in automotive employment, while northern Spain is set for growth.

"The shift from internal combustion to electric vehicles is less an evolution and more a complete transformation of the workforce, and it's happening at speed," said Denis Machuel, CEO of the Adecco Group. "Our findings clearly show that the primary barrier isn't a lack of training content - it's the operational delivery. If the industry and policymakers don't move from reactive hiring to proactive, regionally coordinated workforce planning, they risk losing both crucial manufacturing capacity and millions of skilled workers. The race is on, but we must align our velocity in the right direction."

"Europe's automotive transition is an industrial, skills and competitiveness challenge for the entire ecosystem. Keeping value chains, jobs and innovation anchored in Europe requires a long-term approach that links regions, industry and education through sector-based solutions," added Sigrid de Vries, Director General of ACEA. "This landmark analysis provides actionable recommendations to move from reactive responses to proactive workforce planning. The next phase must focus on scaling initiatives that can deliver real impact - such as the Automotive Skills Alliance - to empower workers through lifelong learning and strengthen regional cooperation, ensuring no region is left behind in the green and digital transition."

To address these challenges, the report introduces the Automotive Skills Implementation Toolkit, a practical set of HR solutions and policy measures designed for immediate regional application. The toolkit calls on:

• Automotive employers to invest in strategic and proactive workforce planning, to embrace flexible learning and focus training during non-production periods, and to invest in cultural change to support internal mobility.
• Regional ecosystems to shift funding focus from creating redundant training curricula to consuming demand-driven, high-quality training and supporting clear job-to-job transition pathways.
• National and EU policymakers to ensure cross-regional coordination and policy stability to underpin long-term industry investment in skills like lifelong learning and simple access to support programmes for workers and businesses.

This initiative reinforces the commitment of the Adecco Group and ACEA to secure a competitive and resilient European automotive sector, ensuring its 13 million-strong workforce is equipped for a zero-emission, digital future.

For further information and to access the full report, click here: https://www.adeccogroup.com/our-thinking/flagship-research/automotive-workforce-reports

About ACEA

• The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) represents the 17 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco Group, JLR, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault Group, Stellantis, Toyota Motor Europe, TRATON GROUP, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo Group.
• Visit www.acea.auto for more information about ACEA, and follow us on https://www.x.com/ACEA_auto or https://www.linkedin.com/company/ACEA/

Contact:

• Camille Lamarque, Policy Communications Officer, [email protected], +32 (0) 2 738 73 16

About Adecco Group

The Adecco Group is the world's leading talent and technology expertise company. Our purpose is making the future work for everyone. Through our three global business units - Adecco, Akkodis and LHH - across 60 countries, we enable sustainable and lifelong employability for individuals, deliver digital and engineering consulting solutions to power transformation and empower organisations to optimise their workforces. The Adecco Group leads by example and is committed to fostering sustainable employability and supporting resilient economies and communities. The Adecco Group AG is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland (ISIN: CH0012138605) and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ADEN).https://www.adeccogroup.com/

About the EU automobile industry

• 13.6 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
• 8.1% of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
• €414.7 billion in tax revenue for European governments
• €93.9 billion trade surplus for the European Union
• Over 8% of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
• €84.6 billion in R&D spending annually, 34% of EU total