The strike continues, unions say, contrary to Musk

Tesla is facing a wave of unionization of workers to carry out its operations

Postal workers, garbage collectors, repair stations, dock workers, electricians and maintenance workers are among those who have refused to accommodate Tesla’s requests, forcing the company to find alternative ways of doing business.

The American automaker does not produce cars in Sweden, but more than 120 mechanics service its electric vehicles there.

IF Metall says it remains in dispute with Tesla. “The strike in Sweden is still going on, our members are on strike,” said IF Metall spokesman Jesper Pettersson. Adding that the union is considering increasing measures.

“(Tesla) wants to give the impression that everything is normal for them, but we know – and they also know – that this is not completely true,” he said.

Disruption of activity

Tesla’s Model Y remained the best-selling car in Sweden in the first quarter of 2024. The group’s total registrations in the country fell by almost 8% year-on-year in the January to March period, which is very much in line with the market, according to data from industry association Mobility Sweden.

However, according to the strike-supporting union IF Metall, Tesla’s operations are still affected. The manufacturer has had to change the way it imports cars into Sweden, while Tesla workers have to manage waste and waste in the workshops themselves, said Elin Lornbo of the Transport Workers Union. Which currently prevents the company from shipping cars to Sweden by boat.

According to the transport association, Tesla could have avoided the restriction by bringing the cars by truck or train.

Musk says the storm has passed

“I think the storm has passed that way,” Musk said.

The latter spoke openly against unions on Monday during a live discussion on his social platform X.

“I think things are good in Sweden” he even congratulated himself a little hastily to reassure the markets?

In the series, everything is fine, move on, there is nothing to see, and welcome to the world of care bears, the manufacturer previously announced that its Swedish workers benefited from conditions as good, or better, than those requested by the union.

Investor pressure

However, Musk’s comments on Monday followed a question posed by the CEO of a Norwegian sovereign wealth fund that holds 1% of Tesla’s shares and is its eighth-largest investor.

Last March, the fund also raised the issue with Tesla President Robyn Denholm.

In 2022, he supported a shareholder proposal requiring Tesla to adopt a policy respecting the rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining. “(We) will continue to follow our expectations,” the fund’s spokesperson said.

In December 2023, some Nordic pension funds and other investors sent a letter to Tesla expressing their concerns. One fund, PensionDenmark, even sold its shares in the manufacturer because of this issue. The ethics committee of Sweden’s four state pension funds, which together hold a 314 million euro stake in Tesla by the end of 2023, said this week it had discussed the strike with the carmaker.

The head of the AP Fund’s Ethics Council, Jenny Gustafsson, said that they had emphasized to Tesla that the Swedish model of collective bargaining “is well established and has provided stability and predictability in the Swedish labor market.”

Our opinion, for leblogauto.com

The drop in Tesla’s stock price in recent hours shows the importance of the case and its impact on the manufacturer’s finances. Investors may be concerned about rising tensions that could disrupt sales and production at the Elon Musk-led company.

Sources : Tesla, Reuters, IF Metall

Read also:

. Tesla / social crisis: pension funds see red

Summing up

Tesla’s strike in Sweden, among the country’s longest labor disputes, continues to disrupt operations, the union said Wednesday. This information is followed mainly by investors, while on the contrary Elon Musk – the boss of the manufacturer – confirms that the storm has passed.

As a reminder, for several months, the American manufacturer of electric cars has been under pressure in the Nordic countries. Solidarity measures have been implemented since October in support of a collective agreement request from Swedish mechanics linked to IF Metall.