One in four Cyprus transport jobs tied to foreign firms

Nearly one in four transport workers in Cyprus is employed by a foreign multinational, double the EU average, according to new figures from Eurostat.

Specifically, the European Union’s statistical office reported that 23.8 per cent of transport employment in Cyprus in 2023 was accounted for by companies under foreign-controlled multinational enterprise groups.

The figures, drawn from the EuroGroups register, show that across the EU some 1.3 million people were employed by transport and storage enterprises belonging to foreign-controlled multinational enterprise groups.

This marked an increase of 30 per cent compared with 2018, highlighting the growing footprint of foreign-controlled firms in the sector.

The 1.3 million workers represented a 12 per cent share of total employment in the sector, classified under NACE section H, covering transport and storage enterprises.

Overall, two-thirds of these 1.3 million employees in transport worked for enterprises belonging to multinational groups controlled by other EU or EFTA countries, while one-third were employed by groups controlled by countries outside the EU and EFTA.

In Cyprus, the 23.8 per cent share of transport employment linked to foreign-controlled groups stood significantly above the EU average of 12 per cent and far higher than neighbouring Greece, which recorded a share of 6.7 per cent.

In absolute terms, Germany had the highest total employment in transport enterprises belonging to foreign-controlled multinational groups, with 191,000 people employed, followed by Poland with 167,000 and Spain with 126,000.

Meanwhile, the highest shares of foreign-controlled employment in the transport sector were found in Sweden at 37.5 per cent, Luxembourg at 33.4 per cent and Netherlands at 25.9 per cent.

By contrast, the lowest shares were reported by France at 5.9 per cent, Lithuania at 6.4 per cent and Greece at 6.7 per cent.

When examining the top countries of controlling ownership, Germany again ranked first, with 232,000 persons employed by German multinational enterprise groups in other EU countries.

France followed with 176,000 employees working in foreign affiliates across the EU, while the Netherlands accounted for 72,000.

The data underline the growing role of foreign-controlled multinational enterprise groups in shaping employment patterns within Europe’s transport and storage sector.

For Cyprus, the comparatively high 23.8 per cent share suggests that international corporate ownership plays a particularly prominent role in the island’s transport industry.

At EU level, the steady rise since 2018 reflects the increasing integration of the European transport market and the continued expansion of cross-border business structures.