The billionaire opposes the labor movement, and workers fear their nation’s traditions are at risk.
I don’t support unions,” Elon Musk stated in a lengthy on-stage interview this week. “I just dislike anything that fosters a hierarchical divide.”
While Musk’s New York Times appearance is often recalled for his criticism of missing advertisers for X, his vehement opposition to unions highlighted an ongoing conflict in Sweden, where Tesla, his electric car company, employs around 120 workers across various sites, servicing vehicles for Swedish drivers.
However, this compact group of engineers finds itself at the epicenter of a surge in industrial action, sparking concerns among Swedish trade unions about the potential jeopardy to the country’s longstanding model of harmonious labor relations.
In contrast to the UK, Sweden permits “sympathy strikes,” and the union representing Tesla employees, IF Metall, has garnered support through a series of boycotts and embargoes spanning multiple industries and involving a much larger workforce than those directly involved in the dispute.
Dockworkers are refusing to unload Tesla cars at Swedish ports, postal workers are abstaining from delivering their number plates, and electricians are refraining from servicing Tesla charging points.
While Tesla aims to pursue legal action against some of these solidarity strikes, it steadfastly rejects the unions’ central demand—that the company enters into a collective agreement. These agreements, typically crafted between employers’ associations and unions to encompass entire sectors, have been integral to the governance of Sweden’s labor market for nearly a century.
It’s a matter of very low priority. Our labor market model enjoys strong support, and politicians prefer to steer clear of it,” he explained. “That’s how politicians in Sweden handle labor conflicts—they avoid interference.”
A month into the strike, IF Metall is resolutely committed for the long term. Workers on strike receive full compensation for lost wages, and with a strike fund estimated at £1 billion, the union asserts it can sustain industrial action costs for decades if necessary. “We have always anticipated that it might be a prolonged process,” Pettersson remarked.
One potential resolution could involve Tesla outsourcing the work performed by its Swedish staff to another company with a collective agreement, a strategy employed by Amazon in its Swedish warehouses.
