30% of Romanian Employees Worked in Foreign-Controlled Firms in 2023

By Romania Journal Last updated Mar 31, 2025

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Germany, France and the United States occupy the top three places in the list of countries that control subgroups of enterprises in Romania, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics. In 2023, approximately 30% of the total number of salaried employees in active enterprises worked in enterprises that are part of multinational groups controlled from abroad.

In Romania, in 2023, 101,755 enterprise groups were identified, of which 5,457 were resident enterprise groups and 96,298 were multinational enterprise groups (707 controlled from within, respectively 95,591 controlled from abroad. In 2023, of the total enterprise groups identified nationally, over 5.3% were resident (5,457 groups).

In 2023, of the total multinational enterprise groups controlled from abroad and identified in Romania, 15,686 are groups controlled by foreign legal entities, and 79,905 are groups controlled by foreign individuals.

In 2023, the distribution of enterprise groups in Romania by economic activities shows that most of them operate in Wholesale and retail trade; Repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles – 32.3% of the total enterprise groups, Construction (11.6% of the total) and Professional, scientific and technical activities – 10.2% of the total enterprise groups.

In Romania, in 2023, 29.9% of the total number of employees in active enterprises worked in enterprises that are part of multinational groups controlled from abroad. In 2023, 22.0% of the total number of employees worked in multinational enterprise groups controlled from the top 10 countries.

In terms of the share of the number of employees, most of the enterprise subgroups in Romania are controlled from Germany, France and the United States. The results of 2023 indicate that, in terms of the share of employees, the subgroups of enterprises controlled by legal entities or individuals from Germany are in first place (18.9%), in second place are those controlled from France (10.8%), and in third place are those controlled from the United States of America (9.2%).

In terms of the share of employees in total multinational enterprise groups controlled from abroad, the subgroups of enterprises controlled from Germany predominate in section C – Manufacturing (9.5%), in section G – Wholesale and retail trade; Repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (3.5%) and in M – Professional, scientific and technical activities (3.2%). Regarding the controlled enterprise subgroups in France, 4.2% of employees are found in section C – Manufacturing, 2.1% are found in section G – Wholesale and retail trade; Repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, and 1.5% are found in section J – Information and communication. Controlled enterprise subgroups in the United States of America have the most employees in section C – Manufacturing (3.8%) and section J – Information and communication (2.7%).

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