Nantesruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Aeronautics
Airbus Nantes (Bouguenais), Daher, Stelia legacy sites, Europe Technologies
The Airbus site at Bouguenais is a centre of excellence for composite structures, including the centre wing box, and it anchors a supplier network across the estuary toward Saint-Nazaire.
Naval & shipbuilding
Chantiers de l'Atlantique, Naval Group Indret, Piriou
The estuary yards at Saint-Nazaire build some of the largest cruise ships in the world, and Naval Group's Indret site upstream makes naval propulsion — a heavy-industry base most people do not associate with Nantes.
Marine renewable energy
Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm operators, Chantiers de l'Atlantique foundations, GEM/Centrale Nantes test sites
France's first commercial offshore wind farm was built off Saint-Nazaire and commissioned in 2022, and the port has become the country's principal industrial base for offshore wind components and floating platform research.
Digital & software
Lengow, Akeneo, iAdvize, Sopra Steria, Capgemini, Atlantic 2.0 network
One of the strongest regional tech scenes in France outside Paris, weighted toward e-commerce and SaaS, with an unusually organised community around the Atlantic 2.0 association and La Cantine.
Health & life sciences
CHU de Nantes, Inserm, Nantes Université, Clean Cells, Xenothera
The CHU is building a single new hospital on the Île de Nantes to replace its split sites, targeted for the late 2020s, alongside genuine research strength in immunology and transplantation.
Agri-food
Sodebo, Tipiak, Eurial, LU heritage sites, Fleury Michon nearby
A large and stable food processing sector across Loire-Atlantique and the Vendée — the biscuit factory that became the Lieu Unique arts centre is the visible remnant of a still-substantial industry.
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