Tesla in Serious Trouble in Sweden

Not only is the strike affecting Tesla in Sweden ongoing, but it is even escalating with unprecedented solidarity between unions.

The conflict that has been opposing Tesla and the Swedish union IF Metall for several months took a new turn this week. Sweden’s largest general union, Unionen, has joined the fight against the car manufacturer. This is the latest development in this six-month strike, which began after Tesla’s refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement with IF Metall.

Six months of social movement, but ultimately only one-third of the American automaker’s Swedish employees involved. Tesla has no manufacturing units in Sweden, mostly employing mechanics and technicians responsible for maintaining charging stations. Elon Musk has been adopting a “positive thinking” approach for the past six months, claiming that the activity is not at all disrupted by the conflict. One could almost echo the words of a former French President, who said that “when there is a strike in France, nobody notices.” But we are in Sweden, and the whole world is following this conflict! Its outcome is crucial for Tesla, because giving in to union demands in Sweden could set a precedent affecting its stance on unions worldwide.

Beware of the snowball effect

IF Metall has so far garnered the support of more than a dozen unions, and Unionen is the latest and also the largest union to join solidarity strikes. Unionen announced that it has stopped all work involving Tesla at DEKRA Industrial AB, which conducts equipment inspections.

Unionen noted that if Tesla attempts to bypass the pressure by hiring other suppliers, they are prepared to take further action. This could involve actions against companies producing license plates for Tesla or employee walkouts in administrative and financial roles within Tesla itself. Tesla has already sued unions that attempted to halt postal services for the automaker.

Despite union actions causing some disruptions, sales remain stable. Since February, Tesla has brought in about 25 temporary employees from other European countries, unlike the previous year when no such workers had been recruited. Although this decision is not officially confirmed to be directly related to the strike, it suggests that the automaker may be a little more jittery than it wants to admit.