Germany’s greatest union is accusing Tesla Inc. of fostering a poisonous working surroundings on the carmaker’s manufacturing unit close to Berlin, as tensions mount forward of a contested works council election.
The US producer is overworking staff and placing strain on employees which have fallen in poor health, IG Metall stated Wednesday. The union utilized for an injunction at a labor courtroom over what it stated had been false allegations that certainly one of its members recorded a works council assembly on a laptop computer. It requested prosecutors to research an area Tesla supervisor for defamation.
Tesla’s administration is attacking unions in Germany “with unprecedented aggression,” stated 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 unit subsequent month. IG Metall is hoping to win a majority on the vote to implement the type of wage settlement which can be normal in Europe’s greatest financial system.
Tesla Chief Govt 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 corporations, 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 related 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 under 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 speedy change.
At Tesla, the state of affairs is very essential 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 employees there have lengthy complained about unfair working circumstances.
IG Metall stated it’s cooperating with an investigation into the laptop computer dispute, with the worker providing authorities entry to the gadget to hurry up the probe and refute the declare. The union is asking 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,” stated Philipp Schwartz, an IG Metall member working within the Tesla works council election. “They now not wish to be regarded down upon as in the event that they had been machines that may be changed once they now not operate as desired.”