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Industrial action at carmaker over collective bargaining sparks wave of sympathy strikes that could spill into other countries
https://www.ft.com/content/31ac4ef0-e945-4a9f-acb7-8330ab35680e
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https://www.ft.com/content/31ac4ef0-e945-4a9f-acb7-8330ab35680e
An escalating strike against Tesla by a group of Swedish unions has been branded “insane” by Elon Musk as the industrial action threatens to disrupt the US carmaker’s operations in other parts of Europe.
About 130 mechanics in Sweden, who belong to the IF Metall union and service the electric cars, went on strike last month after Tesla turned down their request for collective bargaining.
Dockworkers and car dealers have since refused to work with the brand, in sympathy strikes that threaten to harm the company’s business in Sweden and potentially further afield. The latest strike by postal workers means Tesla cars will not have their licence plates delivered to customers.
Musk, Tesla’s chief executive and a staunch critic of unionisation, wrote that the situation “is insane”, in a post on the X social media platform he owns.
Tesla has avoided collective bargaining in its global operations despite opening a factory in Germany, where auto unions are powerful.
“This has been a huge cultural shock to Elon,” said Matthias Schmidt, an independent European auto analyst. “He has gone out of his way to avoid unionisation, but this is a huge wake-up call.”
Unions in Norway, one of Europe’s biggest markets for electric vehicle sales, said they will stop Teslas destined for Sweden being unloaded in the neighbouring Scandinavian country.
https://www.ft.com/content/31ac4ef0-e945-4a9f-acb7-8330ab35680e
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email [email protected] to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour.
https://www.ft.com/content/31ac4ef0-e945-4a9f-acb7-8330ab35680e
An escalating strike against Tesla by a group of Swedish unions has been branded “insane” by Elon Musk as the industrial action threatens to disrupt the US carmaker’s operations in other parts of Europe.
About 130 mechanics in Sweden, who belong to the IF Metall union and service the electric cars, went on strike last month after Tesla turned down their request for collective bargaining.
Dockworkers and car dealers have since refused to work with the brand, in sympathy strikes that threaten to harm the company’s business in Sweden and potentially further afield. The latest strike by postal workers means Tesla cars will not have their licence plates delivered to customers.
Musk, Tesla’s chief executive and a staunch critic of unionisation, wrote that the situation “is insane”, in a post on the X social media platform he owns.
Tesla has avoided collective bargaining in its global operations despite opening a factory in Germany, where auto unions are powerful.
“This has been a huge cultural shock to Elon,” said Matthias Schmidt, an independent European auto analyst. “He has gone out of his way to avoid unionisation, but this is a huge wake-up call.”
Unions in Norway, one of Europe’s biggest markets for electric vehicle sales, said they will stop Teslas destined for Sweden being unloaded in the neighbouring Scandinavian country.
