The article analyses the transformation of HRM policies for skilled employees in large corporations in France over the last decade in relation to changes occurring in governance patterns and competitive strategies. First, we highlight a shift towards globalization and financialization in the strategic management of large corporations in France, entailed by the diffusion of a shareholder form of capitalism in that country. Second, we characterize the market-based HRM model applied to skilled employees under these new strategic orientations and the diversity of ways in which these transformations are perceived depending on employees’ age and level of responsibility within the firm.