Germany’s greatest union is accusing Tesla Inc. of fostering a toxic working environment at the carmaker’s manufacturing facility close to Berlin, as tensions mount forward of a contested works council election.
The US producer is overworking staff and placing strain on workers which have fallen unwell, IG Metall mentioned Wednesday. The union utilized for an injunction at a labor court docket over what it mentioned had been false allegations that one of its members recorded a works council assembly on a laptop computer. It requested prosecutors to research a neighborhood Tesla supervisor for defamation.
Tesla’s administration is attacking unions in Germany “with unprecedented aggression,” mentioned Jan Otto, a regional IG Metall chief. “The corporate should not be allowed to get away with this.”
The feedback showcase escalating friction forward of a vital works council election at Tesla’s German manufacturing facility subsequent month. IG Metall is hoping to win a majority at the vote to implement the type of wage settlement which are customary in Europe’s greatest financial system.
Tesla Chief Government Officer Elon Musk has repeatedly expressed hostility towards unions and collective bargaining offers. In Germany, labor leaders sometimes maintain half the seats on supervisory boards at main firms, handing them the flexibility to affect and block strategic choices.
Tesla didn’t instantly reply to a name for remark.
The vote at Tesla — and comparable ones happening in March at Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Porsche AG and Volkswagen AG — come at a tense time for Europe’s auto trade. Corporations are shifting analysis and manufacturing to lower-cost international locations whereas demand stays beneath pre-pandemic ranges. The Germany trade has shed tens of 1000’s of jobs previously years, leaving IG Metall grappling with broader questions on its relevance in a interval of fast change.
At Tesla, the state of affairs is very vital as the corporate’s European gross sales are slumping in a rising EV market. In Germany, the place it produces the Mannequin Y within the small city of Grünheide, new Tesla registrations plunged 48% in 2025. The corporate’s workers there have lengthy complained about unfair working circumstances.
IG Metall mentioned it’s cooperating with an investigation into the laptop computer dispute, with the worker providing authorities entry to the machine to hurry up the probe and refute the declare. The union is looking for adjustments at Grünheide together with extra personnel, extra shift breaks and extra versatile trip time.
“Workers are proper to demand that they be handled with respect,” mentioned Philipp Schwartz, an IG Metall member operating within the Tesla works council election. “They not need to be seemed down upon as in the event that they had been machines that may be changed once they not operate as desired.”
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