Battery Manufacturing in East Asia and Europe. Networks and Regimes of Labour and Production

The project examines the emerging production networks and regimes of labour and production in the transnational battery industry. In the context of the present transformation of the automotive industry to electric vehicles, battery production has emerged as a strategic industry segment, supported by de-carbonization efforts of the EU and governments around the world. Today, battery production is dominated by a new brand of rapidly expanding multinational companies from China and East Asia. It reflects the transition of car production networks in the automotive industry from the presently dominant »Toyota model« to new forms of modular mass production similar to the IT industry. The major East-Asian players, have established large-scale facilities of specialized mass production, in China in particular, and recently in Europe, mostly in Eastern low-cost regions, transferring their regimes of production at relatively low wages to these regions. European manufacturers from the auto and non-auto sectors are trying to catch up with transcontinental and regional consortia, own battery production facilities and development centers. This development poses major challenges to workers and trade unions. On the one hand, there are massive job losses in the traditional car industry, on the other, a set of new players is emerging with much lower wages and little or no presence of trade unions. In China, this also undermines the position of major multinational car makers with relatively high labour standards. In Europe, (further) pressure on labour standards and unions can be expected, but there have also been initial successes in unionization. The project investigates whether and how the vertical specialization and globalization of production networks, currently led by Chinese and East Asian firms, will result in a new dominant model of industry organization in the global battery and auto industry, and what this means for labour standards and trade union agency as well as for stakeholders’ activities to strengthen workers’ democratic representation.

We follow a multi-methodical research design, targeting case studies of about 10 transnational battery makers from Europe, China and South Korea, including 2-3 related European car makers. Based on extensive experience in the respective regions, expert interviews with managers, trade unionists, government officials at various levels, and NGOs will be conducted. As far as access conditions allow, factory visits and group discussions will be included.