The present invention relates to use of inducible promoters in the production of glycolic acid by fermentation. The present invention concerns a method for the production of glycolic acid in a fermentative process comprising the following steps: culturing a modified microorganism in an appropriate culture medium comprising a source of carbon, modulating in said microorganism the expression of a target gene with an external stimulus, and recovering glycolic acid from the culture medium, wherein in said modified microorganism, the expression of at least one gene involved in glycolic acid production is under the control of a heterologous inducible promoter whose activity is modulated with said external stimulus. The invention also concerned the modified microorganism used in the method of glycolic acid production.