Sub-themes: Labour relations; Industry 4.0; Twin transition; Work and employment in the lithium-ion battery industry; reshaping of supply chains; circular economy as new field of employment
From the CASE paradigm to the electric vehicle via the “twin transition”, how are recent changes in the automotive industry affecting work, employment and industrial relations? How does the return of protectionism (tariffs, industrial policies, reshoring) reshape supply chains and impact where jobs are created or lost? What are the implications for bargaining power and labour strategies?
We are only just beginning to see how electrification is changing the employment structure of the automotive sector, involving both job destruction (particularly in engine production) and job creation in the battery value chain. This stream continues to focus on the way in which trade unions negotiate and deal with electrification. Is a “just transition” possible? What alternative plans do unions develop in the face of those of the automotive firms? What is the quality of the jobs emerging in the battery industry? Similarly, what is the quality of jobs in the production of electric vehicles? We also welcome papers examining how circular economy policies (EPR, end-of-life vehicle rules, recycling and remanufacturing initiatives) create new employment opportunities in repair, recycling and remanufacturing, and how these affect skills, work organisation and labour relations.
This stream also aims to explore the notion of 'twin transition'. Is this a new paradigm intended to replace CASE? Does it have a real impact on the work process?
Given the current crisis/slow down of electrification in some key markets, in particular in Europe, we will also welcome papers dealing with the recent wave of factory closures and restructuring, with overcapacities in BEV production looming in several other markets including China.
We are also interested in the process of social upgrading and/or downgrading in value chains steered by the electrification process, but also more generally by the decarbonisation of value chains and production.
Given the special focus on China this year, we will be in particularly interested on papers analyzing work and employment in Chinese companies (OEMs, suppliers, battery makers, etc.): are there specific Chinese work regimes? Do we see social upgrading as a result of the strong economic and functional upgrading of the Chinese automotive industry?
We also welcome papers that document how Chinese employment relations travel when these companies create subsidiaries abroad in different institutional and social contexts.
