Tesla in Sweden: Strong Sales Despite Lack of Production
Tesla doesn’t manufacture any vehicles in Sweden but operates multiple service facilities for car maintenance. Despite this, the Tesla Model Y has emerged as the best-selling new car in Sweden with over 14,000 registrations up to October, according to Mobility Sweden, an industry group.
At the onset of the mechanics’ strike, a Tesla representative stated to Swedish media that the company complies with labor laws in the country and has chosen not to sign a collective agreement. The company expressed its commitment to keeping its operations running.
Quotable: ‘It is both important and obvious that we help.’
The Swedish Transport Workers’ Union stressed the significance of supporting the collective agreement and the Swedish labor market model in a statement, emphasizing the necessity of their involvement.
How It Started: Strike Action by Tesla Mechanics since Oct. 27
IF Metall, representing 300,000 workers in Sweden, including some of Tesla’s mechanics, declared the commencement of the strike action at Tesla’s 12 service centers on Oct. 27 after failed talks with company representatives.
Dockworkers initially refused to unload any Teslas at four major Swedish ports starting on Nov. 7, which expanded to 55 ports on Friday.
Unions representing cleaners have also refused to service Tesla facilities, and the postal workers’ union stopped all deliveries to the company’s sites.
Both IF Metall and the Transport Workers’ Union acknowledged Tesla’s efforts to work around the strikes by bringing in alternative mechanics and delivering new vehicles into Sweden via truck.
The strike efforts have also faced resistance from some union members working for Tesla who refused to participate, as reported by Swedish media.
What Other Unions Say: German Unions Show Solidarity
In Germany, where Tesla produces the Model Y at a gigafactory outside Berlin, union leaders are seeking to organize the approximately 11,500 employees. Tesla’s leadership has not engaged with the German autoworkers’ union, IG Metall. Last month, several hundred workers wore union stickers advocating for “safe and fair work.”
Dirk Schulze, the regional head of IG Metall in Brandenburg, expressed solidarity with the striking Swedish workers and stated that the strike has boosted German workers’ confidence to organize themselves into a union.
The union has not announced any further measures.
What Happens Next: Further Strikes Planned in Sweden
IF Metall announced that 50 of its members at Hydro Extrusions, a company producing an aluminum component for Tesla, will go on strike next Friday.
