Alpine employees at the Viry-Chatillon facility have expressed profound discontent following the confirmation of Renault F1 engine shutdown effective from the 2026 season.
This means that starting 2026 F1 going forward, the Alpine F1 team will have a customer engine supply agreement, with Mercedes believed to be the front-runner.
The decision has sparked a wave of backlash among staff members, who feel that the move jeopardizes their future and undermines the rich heritage of the Alpine brand within the sport.
The Renault Group’s strategy aims to pivot towards a new engineering initiative, dubbed “Hypertech Alpine,” but many employees are skeptical about this transition and its implications for their roles and the company’s legacy.
The Renault F1 engine shutdown was confirmed on Monday, amid ongoing discussions between the marque’s management and employee representatives following a series of protests staged by Alpine employees as they sought direct engagement with Renault Group CEO Luca De Meo.
The talks between the Viry-Chatillon workforce and the Renault Group have been ongoing ever since the former Alpine F1 team boss Bruno Famin revealed that a transformation project had been offered for the Viry factory.
Famin revealed the plan at the Belgian Grand Prix, which called for him to leave his F1 responsibilities and take charge of the factory’s transformation. This would entail stopping the production of F1 engines and putting the employees to work on other technological projects for the Renault Group.
A meeting with De Meo took place on September 20 where the council representing employees ,Comite Social et Economique (CSE), voiced concerns about the likely termination of the F1 engine programme.
The Factory employees released an audio clip of an engine running on a test bench, and a representative told PlanetF1.com at Monza that the engine is meeting its performance targets.
Despite these efforts, the management’s resolution to discontinue the F1 power unit program appears firm, leaving many employees feeling unheard and undervalued.
In an official statement released shortly after the announcement, representatives from the Alpine Racing Works Council articulated their collective disappointment. They criticized Renault’s decision as lacking a thorough evaluation of its potential impact on brand prestige as well as future sales.
“All the staff representatives, representing the voice of the employees and a majority of the stakeholders, regret and deplore the decision behind Renault F1 engine shutdown in 2026,” a statement read issued to PlanetF1.com by the CSE.
“This choice has been endorsed by the [Renault] Group, which wishes to reduce the financial risk associated with F1, even though no serious study has been carried out to assess the impact on future sales and the prestige of the brand.
“The Group has ruled out partnership solutions, even though they would have made it possible to meet several objectives: maintaining an F1 business, reducing development and operating costs, retaining all the skills, and the possibility of taking a RE26 engine that has already been largely developed and is promising until the 2026 season.
“The content, resources and sustainability of the new projects that management wishes to bring to Viry are still largely unclear.
“The communicated size of the F1 monitoring unit (staff and budget) still seems too small, and calls into question Alpine’s potential return as an engine manufacturer.
“The history of the Viry site shows that decisions to the contrary have often been taken, and demonstrates the importance to maintain highly qualified skills for the future in order to leave the door open to a return to F1 when the regulations and the shareholder’s financial situation make it more attractive.”
As part of this strategic shift, Renault plans to transform the Viry-Chatillon site into a state-of-the-art engineering hub focused on new technologies. However, many employees are wary of this transition, questioning the clarity and sustainability of the new projects that management intends to pursue.
Concerns have been raised regarding job security, with projections indicating a significant reduction in workforce numbers—from approximately 500 to 334 positions—by January 1, 2025. The anticipated loss of around 100 indirect jobs at partner organizations further compounds these worries.
“On January 1, the Viry-Chatillon site will be reduced from 500 to 334 jobs, with the end of contracts for a large number of service providers, along with the loss of around a hundred indirect jobs at the main partners by the end of 2024.
“The end of the Concours d’Excellence Mécanique Alpine (CEMA), supported by the French Ministry of Labour, Health and Solidarity and the Ministry of Education and Youth commitment to equal opportunities, promoting gender diversity and raising the profile of a sector of young talent.”
Despite these challenges, staff members at Viry-Chatillon have continued to work diligently on developing what would have been their 2026 F1 engine—a project they now feel deprived of pursuing due to management’s abrupt decision.
The employees’ statement highlighted that the cessation of F1 motorization poses a significant risk to retaining critical skills and expertise developed over years of competition in Formula 1.
“Despite the turmoil of the last 2 months, the Viry team has continued to develop the power of the 2026 engine which Alpine is losing. This contrarian decision means that Alpine is missing out on its sporting history.
“For all these reasons, the employee representatives on the works council unanimously voted against the transformation project. We call on the public authorities to defend the long-term future of jobs at the Viry-Chatillon site.”
In light of these developments, Alpine employees representatives are now seeking political support from local authorities to safeguard jobs and ensure a sustainable future for those affected by Renault’s decision.
