car industry
News and articles about work, policy and workers' struggles in manufacturing, research and development, mining and materials around the world.
Unite union negotiates pay cut for members at Toyota
The Unite union has negotiated a 10% wage cut for its members at Toyota plants in Derby and North Wales.
Responding to an announcement from car manufacturer Toyota that production at its UK plants would be cut by 10%, with an associated cut in wages of 10%, Peter Tsouvallaris, Unite representative at the plant said: "Our members are reminded daily of the tremendous insecurity this recession has brought to our industry.
Strike at the Dacia-Renault plant in Romania, 2008
Account and analysis of a significant strike of auto workers in Romania early 2008
More Noise, More Self-Respect, More Daring
Strike at the Dacia-Renault plant in Romania: a turning point
Wildcat strike at German car part manufacturer
Workers at car parts manufacturer Karmann have walked out after being informed of 1400 job cuts no redundancy pay.
Karmann in Osnabrueck manufactures convertibles (1,400 workers) and roof-systems (1,100 workers), for example for Mercedes, Audi and Renault.
For some time it was clear that there will be job cuts in one of the production departments (paint-shop, metal parts).
Rumours of mass picket at BMW plant in Cowley, Oxford
After job cuts were announced at a BMW Mini car plant in Oxford, it is thought that workers, angry with both the company and their union, are planning a mass picket for tomorrow morning.
Workers at the Cowley plant near Oxford learned 850 jobs are to go, affecting agency staff from the weekend shift. Agency workers were given just one hours notice that they were being made redundant. Many of them have worked there for years but have no rights to redundancy pay.
1970-1972: The Lordstown struggle and the real crisis in production - Ken Weller
Fascinating pamphlet by Solidarity on the informal workers struggle against the frenetic pace of work at a General Motors plant, and the later co-optation of the struggle by the auto workers union.
This pamphlet is an attempt to document some important tendencies developing in the motor car industry but which are relevant to modern production as a whole. We feel these trends have important political consequences for revolutionary socialists.
Car industry: more attacks on jobs and pay
A new wave of redundancies and pay cuts hits car manufacturing in the UK, as companies aim to take back the cost of the recession from the workforce.
Ford are looking to axe 7% of its UK workforce, with nearly half of the staff at its Southampton Transit plant lined up to go. The company is also seeking to renege on the pay deal of 5.2% agreed with the unions, as it seeks to fund the redundancy packages from the pay of the workers.
Strikes hit German car industry
8,000 workers launched a series of co-ordinated strikes at automobile and electronics companies as it and employers spar over wage increases.
The strikes took place at 17 companies, the union, IG Metall, said in a statement.
Car maker Audi was particularly hard hit, as 4,000 workers walked off the floor of an Audi plant in the southern city of Ingolstadt, the union said. Another 1,000 spots went unfilled after a nightshift ended at an Audi plant in Neckarsulm, to the west.
General strike over prices brings Belgium to a halt
A nationwide strike against rising prices disrupted transport, retailing and manufacturing across Belgium on Monday.
High-speed international rail services in and out of the country to France, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands were cancelled and picketing disrupted the port of Antwerp.
Workers were protesting in advance of the government's 2009 budget to demand action on inflation and the rising cost of living.
Gurgaon Workers News No.13 - October 2008
Wildcat strikes and repression in the Special Economic Zone of Gurgaon.
Gurgaon Workers News - Newsletter 13 (October 2008)
Wave of strikes and agreements in Brazilian car industry
Workers at major car industry plants in Brazil went on strike during September in support of their demands for improved pay.
On September 1, workers at the Volkswagen-Audi factory in the city of Curitiba began a one-week strike. Workers at the Volvo and Renault/Nissan plants in the same town also went on strike on the same day.
During that week, 24-hour strikes occurred at Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Mercedes Benz and Scania in cities in the interior of Sao Paulo state.
