Rouenruns 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
Port, logistics & grain
HAROPA Port Rouen, Sénalia, Soufflet, Cargill, Simarex
Rouen is western Europe's leading grain export port, shipping roughly 7.4 million tonnes of cereals in 2025, and since 2021 it has been part of HAROPA, the merged Le Havre–Rouen–Paris river-maritime port along the whole Seine axis.
Chemicals, refining & energy
Lubrizol, ExxonMobil Port-Jérôme, Borealis, Air Liquide, Total Energies sites on the estuary
A heavy chemical and refining corridor along the Seine that is the source of most of the region's industrial employment and of its Seveso classifications — the two facts are the same fact.
Pharmaceuticals & health industries
Sanofi, Aptar Pharma, Janssen legacy sites, the Val-de-Reuil biotech cluster
Normandy has one of France's largest pharmaceutical manufacturing footprints, concentrated in the Seine valley between Rouen and Évreux, with vaccine and sterile production among the specialisms.
Automotive & advanced manufacturing
Renault Cléon, Valeo, Bosch, Aircelle nearby
The Renault plant at Cléon has pivoted from combustion engines to electric motors and drivetrains, and remains one of the largest single industrial employers in the métropole even after decades of shrinkage.
Insurance & financial services
Matmut, Groupama Centre-Manche, Crédit Agricole Normandie-Seine
Matmut was founded in Rouen in 1961 and still has its head office here, which gives the city a white-collar financial employer of national scale that its industrial reputation obscures.
Public sector, health & education
Région Normandie, Préfecture de la Seine-Maritime, CHU de Rouen, Université de Rouen Normandie, NEOMA Business School
As the regional capital and the seat of a large university hospital, public administration, healthcare and higher education together account for a very large share of stable local employment.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.