Abstract
Introduction
The shift from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) to electric vehicles (EVs) marks a pivotal and tumultuous moment in the global automotive industry. While it revives longstanding concerns, such as job displacement, deteriorating working conditions, and shifting skill demands, it also introduces new complexities. Emerging sectors, such as battery production and mineral extraction, are transforming supply chains and labour markets, raising urgent questions about job quality, equity, and the distribution of risks and benefits. At the same time, governments are adopting more interventionist roles, increasingly blurring the lines between industrial and labour market policy. This is not merely a technological shift, but a contested redefinition of work, governance and the political economy of decarbonisation.
These themes were central to the international conference ‘Labor and the Transition to Electric Vehicles: A Global Perspective,’ held at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR School) in New York City on 9–10 May 2025. Hosted by Ian Greer, Harry Katz, Art Wheaton (Cornell-ILR), Mathieu Dupuis (Université Laval) and Anja Kirsch (Freie Universität Berlin), this event brought together scholars, union leaders and nonprofit representatives from across the globe to develop a global understanding of the EV transition and its consequences for workers. Questions guiding the discussions were how the EV shift is reshaping labour markets, institutional arrangements and state-industry dynamics, and how climate action can not only be environmentally sustainable but also socially ‘just’. Following the conference, an edited book will be published based on the papers and presentations.
Day 1: Transition challenges, union experiences and worker outcomes
The opening Session 1, ‘Bargaining over the Transition,’ examined how the transition is unfolding in both assembly and supplier plants, and how unions and workers are responding to its impacts. Though often described as a disruptive break, the discussion revealed strong continuities with earlier restructuring cycles. In Benelux, outcomes varied widely: one car plant was shuttered due to overcapacity and compressed timelines; a truck plant remained largely unaffected; and a components plant exposed deep divides between white- and blue-collar workers. In France, EV investments were secured through concession bargaining, reflecting the limitations of fragmented labour institutions. Korea’s transition reinforced labour market dualism, with core unionised workers involved in enterprise-level planning, while subcontracted and supplier workers were left out. Germany appeared more resilient due to robust institutional support, but unions in Central and Eastern Europe continued to face systemic constraints. Across cases, the shift has not dismantled structural inequalities, but reconfigured them under the banner of ‘green transition’.
Session 2, ‘Union Experiences in Collective Bargaining,’ offered first-hand insights into how unions are negotiating the terms of the transition. Angelo DiCaro from UNIFOR described Canada’s move from early optimism to growing unease, driven by uncertain employment outcomes and US–Canada economic tensions. Thorsten Groeger from IG Metall reflected on a recent Volkswagen agreement in Germany, which secured plants and major investment but only through significant union concessions, raising concerns about whether Germany’s social partnership model still functions on equal terms. Georg Leutert from IndustriALL emphasised a global perspective, highlighting that workers in the Global South face structural dependencies and limited bargaining power, which render many northern transition models inapplicable. The session underscored the need for a broader ‘just transition’ conception, integrating procedural and material justice across geographic and economic divides.
Session 3, ‘Challenges for Trade Unions and Labor Movement,’ examined the broader institutional and strategic hurdles facing labour. In the United States, the absence of a coordinated transition plan has limited unions’ capacity to shape outcomes, though some gains have been won through militant actions. In contrast, the Italian case showed how strong local union capacity enabled more proactive planning, moving beyond merely finding a new buyer to reimagining the future of affected plants. The Chilean lithium mining case highlighted critical blind spots in union coverage across global supply chains, pointing to the need for NGOs and international institutions, such as the ILO, to help enforce labour standards. However, traditional unions remain key players: German transformation networks, for instance, demonstrate how regional actors can ideally bridge union–employer divisions, fostering coordinated responses to industrial change.
Session 4, ‘Workers and Workplaces,’ examined workplace-level dynamics and the experiences of workers often excluded from mainstream union narratives. In Germany, efforts to transition a supplier plant stalled due to insufficient investment and the absence of a clear product strategy, despite close cooperation between local management and the works council. In Hungary, Chinese-invested plants revealed dual labour regimes: Chinese expatriate workers faced harsh, tightly controlled conditions, while local workers operated under a more liberal yet precarious regulatory framework. Meanwhile, at German Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), engineers – traditionally peripheral to union activity – are growing disillusioned with corporate leadership amid rising uncertainty, prompting a shift in alignment toward works councils. These papers show that the EV transition presents not only challenges but also new openings for labour engagement beyond the traditional shop floor.
Day 2: Just transition, industry policy and worker mobility
The second day’s opening Session 5, ‘Roundtable – the Politics and Policy of Just Transition,’ offered first-hand insights into workplace organising and union strategy. Will Tucker from Jobs to Move America reported recent success in bargaining for a community benefits agreement at an Alabama bus plant, highlighting opportunities to improve social conditions in ‘green’ production. Angelo DiCaro from UNIFOR described past negotiations with US OEMs aimed at saving auto plants through electrification. Following initial greenfield investments supported by the Canadian government, the EV transition strategy has been derailed in favour of ICEVs in response to recent changes in US trade policy. Max Fazeli from UAW attributed difficulties in the US EV transition to an inconsistent political strategy and lower-than-expected consumer demand, criticising policies, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, for lacking labour provisions, and US tariffs for being enacted in an uncoordinated way. The session highlights the need to integrate labour standards into industrial policies and trade negotiations and to involve labour representatives in policy-making processes.
Session 6, ‘Industry Policy and Global Production Networks,’ examined how the auto industry responds to national and supranational EV policies, reshaping the global distribution of value-creating activities. The Turkish case exhibits limited transition investments of legacy OEMs, often lacking improvements in labour regimes or R&D. The most significant investments in Turkish EV manufacturing are by Chinese firms. In North America, policies have shaped the restructuring activities by creating a wave of EV investments, resulting in new job creation primarily in anti-union states not affected by job losses. In the EU, there has been limited success in safeguarding workers in the absence of labour conditionalities in industrial policies. In battery production, the recent capacity ramp-up has increased investment competition between EU countries, and related industrial policy entails a flexibilisation of labour conditions. These cases show that policy often fosters ‘green’ investments at the cost of eroding labour standards.
Session 7, ‘Skills and Worker Mobility,’ examined how the transition changes the skill demands across the EV value chain from production to auto service, and public transport. The case of Canadian auto service technicians illustrates the growing need for electrical skills, while mechanical skills become less relevant in servicing EVs. In China, the emergence of a new labour regime in EV manufacturing causes established vocational training systems to erode. Much like consumer electronics, EVs are produced in disintegrated mass production, often by unqualified migrant workers at contractors, rendering vocational training schemes – a staple at established ICEV joint ventures of Western OEMs and Chinese partners – obsolete. Bruno Dobrusin from the International Transport Workers’ Federation highlighted the EV shift’s consequences for public transport workers: environmental and operational benefits of electric buses are countered by challenges to workers’ skill sets, not only for bus drivers but also for service technicians, who face increased outsourcing of bus maintenance to OEMs. These cases demonstrate how electrification is reshaping skill requirements and vocational training systems across the various facets of transportation.
Conclusion
The EV transition is not a uniform or linear process as it unfolds across geographies, sectors and institutions, often reproducing or deepening existing inequalities. The conference highlights what is at stake in a global context: opportunities for ‘green’ production and new employment are opposed by profound risks for workers, particularly where labour standards, participation rights and training systems are underdeveloped or deliberately weakened. Varying union responses across countries depend on national institutions, bargaining power and policy support. In places with strong labour support and active state engagement, unions can shape the transition’s outcomes to some extent. Elsewhere, particularly in more liberal or dependent economies, workers face the brunt of job displacement and labour flexibilisation, with limited union capacity to intervene.
The presented research helps to understand how the EV transition is not only about technological change, but a transformation that challenges the strategic interests of unions, firms and governments through industrial policy, trade dynamics and geopolitical tensions. Current EV restructuring is marked by competition for ‘green’ investment and policy support that often lacks labour conditionalities, resulting in job creation that overlooks regional displacement and erodes labour protections. To ensure a genuine just transition, labour must not be left as an afterthought, as stronger labour standards, more inclusive policy frameworks and more equitable global production arrangements are essential. The EV shift must not only be ‘green’ but also ‘just’, delivering both environmental sustainability and social justice across the global automotive value chain.