Report: France Retains Role as One of Georgia’s Top Job Creators

France has retained its role as a top-five investor in Georgia by jobs created, continuing its steady trajectory of partnership with the state, according to an annual report released in May by the French embassy in Washington. 

Investment by French companies in Georgia supported a combined 25,300 jobs in 2024, the embassy calculated in a state-by-state breakdown using U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data collected in 2022, the latest available.  

That number is down from the prior year’s total of 27,100, at which the report estimated that French accounted for close to 10 percent of the jobs supported by foreign companies in the state, despite arguably more attention being given to other European and Asian investors when it comes to recruitment. This year, the figure was 8.8 percent of foreign-supported jobs coming from France.

Georgia and France also traded $4.4 billion in goods, with about $3.7 billion imported from France and $673 million exported from Georgia, though those compiling the report noted a caveat that may help explain the lopsided imbalance: imports are calculated with the cost of insurance and freight embedded. Exports were quantified based only on the value of the goods at customs clearance.

As a broad product category, transportation equipment led the way in both directions — think French airplanes and parts and Georgia automobiles — with machinery and chemicals also making strong showings among the top five products. Pharmaceuticals and medical equipment made up about 21 percent of French exports to Georgia. 

Exotec, a French unicorn using robotics to streamline warehousing and e-commerce fulfillment, was profiled in the report as a success story in Georgia, combining a strong software framework with warehouse hardware including robots, bins and racks that make up its Skypod system.

Exotec which has more than $1 billion in system sales ($400 million in the last three years) and 1,300 employees around the world, has undertaken multiple expansions since entering the state in 2022, its latest in October 2024 encompassing 37,000 square feet of space on Peachtree Street. 

The new Exostudio includes a showroom providing for customer demonstrations of the redesigned Skypod system released in February, along with office space for 250 employees, including hardware and software engineers. The space complements its initial launchpad in Atlanta — another facility it has retained on Ottley Drive. 

A plan to grow its team by more than two-thirds this year, the company said, has been driven largely by major contracts from large customers including Fortune 500 brands. Georgia-based apparel producer Oxford Industries has deployed Skypod for its omnichannel warehousing needs. 

Another showpiece project that didn’t get as much fanfare was Saint-Gobain subsidiary CertainTeed’s decision in 2022 to invest $100 million into its roofing shingle factory in Peachtree City. The decision was driven by both economic and environmental motives — the company got $5 million in state and local incentives for the expansion, while new equipment was set to reduce emissions by 14 percent.

In recent years, the company has invested $28 million Dublin through its ADFORS brand, boosted its CertainTeed plant in Social Circle, Ga., where it now employs more than 60, and opened a new ceilings plant in Conyers. Read more about the company’s plans to employ more than 700 Georgians: French Building Products Firm Announces More Than $150M in Georgia Investments

France’s job creation in Georgia has already grown more than 60 percent in the last decade, much of it driven by acquisition, but leaders noted that further collaboration should be on the horizon. 

In a foreword, French President Emmanuel Macron said shifts in U.S. trade policy have sparked discussions on how best to balance domestic interests with international alliances. 

“I firmly believe that cooperation, rather than confrontation, will ultimately deliver the most enduring economic victories for both our nations over the common challenges U.S. and France face,” Mr. Macron wrote. 

See the full report embedded below:

2025_Economic_Report