Labor Strike at Tesla Expands from Sweden to Denmark

Key Points

• 🌐 Tesla faces a labor strike spreading from Sweden to Denmark, with Denmark’s largest union, 3F, refusing to transport vehicles to Sweden.
• 🤝 The strike in Sweden is a result of a dispute with IF Metall, the Swedish union, over Tesla’s refusal to sign a collective agreement for new worker’s rights.
• 🇳🇴 Norwegian unions are considering actions against Tesla, and there’s a potential for the strike to spread to Norway, a strong market for the automaker.
• ⚓ The strike in Denmark, an act of solidarity, involves dockworkers who will strike against Teslas heading to Sweden in two weeks, giving a mandatory two-week notice period.
• 🚗 Tesla’s attempt to bypass the Swedish strike by sending cars through Denmark is no longer an option.

A labor dispute and subsequent strike in Sweden against Tesla has reportedly spread to Denmark.

A union in Denmark has now said it would no longer transport vehicles to Sweden, Financial Times reported.

Denmark’s largest union is 3F, and on Tuesday, it announced that its dockworkers and drivers would stop any effort to move vehicles that were set to arrive in Sweden as a result of the strike that IF Metall, the Swedish union, has against Tesla.

IF Metall union members have made every attempt to complicate vehicle deliveries for Tesla after the automaker refused to sign a collective agreement for new worker’s rights.

In late November, reports stated there were potential risks of the strike spreading to other countries, as Arturo Vasquez, an ombudsman for IF Metall, said that the union’s fight against Tesla is “incredibly important.”

Jan Villadsen, the head of 3F Transport, had a similar sentiment regarding Tesla and its unwillingness to sign a collective agreement.

Villadsen said (via FT):

“Even if you are one of the richest people in the world, you can’t just make your own rules. We have some agreements on the labor market in the Nordics, and you have to comply with them if you want to do business here.”

According to the report, Norwegian unions are further discussing what steps can be taken against Tesla, and there is even the potential for the strike to spread to Norway, which is a stronger market for the automaker than Sweden.

The strike in Denmark is more of an act of solidarity, but dockworkers will start striking against Teslas headed to Sweden in two weeks. They have already given their mandatory two-week notice period.

Tesla attempted to get around the Swedish strike by sending cars through Denmark, but now it appears that this will not be an option for the automaker moving forward.