A just transition for autoworkers? E-mobility and restructuring in transatlantic comparison 

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Abstract

Around the world, firms are decarbonizing their economic activities in order to combat climate change. During this transition to green economies, economic rewards (work and income) are being re-distributed between employers and employees, between firms in value chains, between sites of a given firm, and between different locations, both nationally and internationally.

In principle, governments, employers and unions agree that this transition should be “just”. They define a just transition as: “greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind” (International Labour Organization 2023).

In practice, however, the goals of climate protection, corporate profits and decent work are partially in conflict. Consequently, employment relations actors may support or oppose the transition towards a climate-neutral economy when pursuing their economic interests.

In this seminar talk, I will introduce the project “A just transition for autoworkers? E-mobility and restructuring in transatlantic comparison”, which I am currently working on with Ian Greer and Virginia Doellgast from Cornell University’s ILR School. Drawing on interviews with unions and works councils, I will present our findings on the redistribution of economic rewards in German and US auto companies during the current transition to electric vehicles, and on workers’ conceptions of what constitutes a just transition.

Speaker

Prof. Dr. Anja Kirsch is Professor of Gender, Governance and International Management at the Management Department of the School of Business and Economics, Freie Universität Berlin. Her research centres on work organizations and is concerned with sustainability and inequality topics, often in an international comparison. Current projects concern gender diversity on boards of directors; women in leadership positions; sustainability reporting; the governance of labour standards in global supply chains; the concepts of just transition and decent work in a green economy; and employment relations in the automotive industry.