AkzoNobel, the Netherlands-based global paints and coatings leader, on May 20, 2025, unveiled a reorganization plan that has the potential to see up to 211 staff members in France, which represents about 16% of the firm’s 1,300 workers in the country, laid off.
The action, which is part of a more wide-ranging cost-reduction and efficiency initiative, involves a €22 million (USD 22.7 million) investment at its Montataire factory in Northern France to convert it into a center of excellence for the manufacture of decorative paint.
Though the plan, to be executed from May 2025 till the end of 2026, also plans to make 29 new jobs, it has raised eyebrows among Indian employees and local stakeholders in India’s USD 3.5 trillion economy wherein the market for coatings stands at ₹70,000 crore.
Challenges such as MSME integration and regulatory lags may constrain India’s capacity to take advantage of international industry shifts, and hence highlighting the call for reforms to aim for a USD 10 billion coating industry by 2030.
The restructuring, announced first on January 10, 2025, and further elaborated in May, addresses a post-COVID market downturn, increasing raw material prices, and customer destocking, which have compressed AkzoNobel’s margins, according to a 2025 Reuters report.
The firm, which has brands such as Dulux, Sikkens, and International, hopes to save €120–150 million a year in global restructuring, including cutting 2,000 jobs globally by 2025, 5.5% of its 35,000 staff, according to a 2024 NL Times report.
In France, the Montataire plant with 340 employees is threatened with a net loss of 66 jobs (89 cuts backed up by 23 new positions), whereas the Sikkens Solutions distribution network based in Corbas can expect some outlets to be sold or closed, according to a 2025 L’Usine Nouvelle article.
AkzoNobel’s €22 million investment in Montataire, in addition to €5 million spent in 2022 and €15 million on its Pamiers facility for aerospace coatings, is intended to upgrade manufacturing and bolster Europe’s decorative paints market, according to a 2025 AkzoNobel press release. Nonetheless, the plan’s social implications were assailed by unions and local authorities in Oise, where Montataire is a major industrial employer, as threatening economic loss in an already-industrially constricted region, according to a 2025 BoatIndustry report.
The company committed to capping forced redundancies through retraining and support arrangements but continues to disagree on consultation with social partners, which has dragged on since January.
For India, AkzoNobel’s restructuring brings opportunities and challenges in the coating business. India’s coating market, fueled by infrastructure development under PM Gati Shakti and housing demand through Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), is expected to expand at a 7% CAGR until 2030, according to a 2024 CII report. MSMEs, providing 40% of coating inputs, may gain from technology transfers if AkzoNobel shifts production to Asia. Government schemes such as the ₹50,000 crore Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) encourage MSME innovation and account for 30% of industry production. The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) increases MSME market access by 25%, according to a 2024 SIDBI report.
It is not all smooth sailing, though. Regulatory clearance for integrating with global supply chains in 4–6 years, as compared to China’s 2, may discourage investment, according to a 2024 Nasscom report. MSMEs incur compliance expenses of ₹1–2 lakh each month, reducing competitiveness. Infrastructure shortfalls, such as erratic power, interrupt manufacturing, impacting 20% of the units. Skill gaps, with a mere 5% of Skill India’s 2 million skilled workers skilled in superior coating technology, hamper innovation.
Volatility in global trade, affecting 30% of India’s chemical exports, puts added pressure, according to a 2024 UNCTAD report.
Experts offer solutions. Technology Upgradation Scheme subsidies can make MSME costs more manageable. Scaling up Skill India technical training can fill gaps. 5G and power reliability enhancement through PM Gati Shakti will stabilize operations. IIT public-private partnerships can create cost-effective coating technology. CII campaigns can increase ONDC adoption and industry education.
AkzoNobel’s French workforce reduction, along with its Montataire investment, is symptomatic of the worldwide coatings industry’s drive for efficiency in the face of economic challenges. For India, this change presents an opportunity to consolidate its position in the market.
With solutions to regulatory, skill, and infrastructure hurdles, India can translate global trends into growth toward a Viksit Bharat by 2030.