Workers at Tesla’s German plant have signed a petition demanding better working conditions, as the powerful IG Metall union pushes to expand its foothold at the only European factory of Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company.
Over 3,000 employees — more than a quarter of the plant’s workforce — have signed a petition asking for more breaks, better staffing and an end to management harassment, according to IG Metall, after a survey by the union found more than 90 per cent of staff had suffered from work-related physical issues, such as back pain.
Tesla’s production facility is the only car plant in Germany where wages are not set through union negotiations. Its works council, which represents employees on a company’s supervisory board, is led by a non-union affiliated member of staff, an anomaly in Germany’s heavily unionised automotive industry.
Last spring, IG Metall failed to secure a majority in the works council at Tesla’s factory outside Berlin and has since intensified pressure on representatives it accuses of being aligned with management.
IG Metall’s regional head Dirk Schulze said the petition was a sign that employees were “standing up for their demands for better work conditions” and had defied “misinformation from management”.
Tesla has been embroiled in a labour dispute with unions in Sweden since 2023, while in the US it has been accused of alleged anti-union conduct. Musk’s Tesla has been outspoken about his dislike of labour unions.
The company did not respond to a request to comment on the petition by German workers.
Mounting pressure over working conditions at Tesla’s European plant comes as the carmaker’s sales in Germany have plummeted, following Musk’s public endorsement of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
In February, Tesla sales in Germany slumped 76 per cent to 1,429 cars. This was consistent with falling sales in many European countries such as Sweden, France and Italy.
Christiane Benner, chair of IG Metall, has previously warned the US billionaire that the union will not back away from Tesla’s German plant.
“We don’t allow union-free zones. Not even on Mars, Elon Musk,” she said.
