Tesla has been hit with a new lawsuit by Swedish trade union IF Metall in what is the dispute’s latest chapter.
IF Metall filed the suit on Wednesday after it claimed Tesla failed to inform employee representatives of workplace changes, something that is required under labor laws in Sweden.
This is the second lawsuit that IF Metall has filed against Tesla this year that claims the company breached Sweden’s Co-Determination Act.
Reuters first reported the story.
The first case is still pending.
The claims in the new case aim to admonish Tesla for reorganizing its branch in Umea, Sweden, a move it made without unforming IF Metall. Court documents seen by the publication confirmed the nature of the suit.
IF Metall head talks about Tesla strike: “we have nothing against Tesla as a car”
IF Metall says Tesla phased out its entire sales organization, among other parts, without officially informing the union. The group says this is a breach of the Co-Determination act.
The situation in Sweden has been ongoing as Tesla will not sign a collective bargaining agreement that would allow unions to negotiate wages and other workplace conditions for workers.
Tesla has held a strong stance that it operates more efficiently without unions, and can offer better wages and work terms than if its workers were to be represented.
Tesla Sales in Sweden in 2024
Despite the conflict between Tesla and the Swedish union IF Metall, the company has still performed extremely well in terms of overall vehicle sales.
We reported a few days ago that Tesla’s market share in the country through the first nine months of the year had grown from 7.8 percent in 2023 to 8.5 percent this year, so far.
In terms of EVs, Tesla held 28.6 percent of the market share in Q3 alone. This according to data tracked by EU-EVs.
Tesla is in commanding control of the overall EV market in Sweden as well. The company holds 23.3 percent of all EV sales through the first three quarters, thanks to strong sales figures from the Model Y, which had 80 percent of Tesla’s total sales for the year.
The Model 3 was the sixth-best-selling EV in Sweden.
Despite the union tensions, it is evident that Tesla is doing well. How these two cases will shake out truly depends on what evidence can be brought forth.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
