Tesla resolves its nearly three-year labor dispute in Sweden by buying out striking mechanics, avoiding a collective agreement.
Tesla has ended the longest labor strike in modern Swedish history by offering severance packages to all remaining striking mechanics, according to the union IF Metall. The strike, which began on Oct. 27, 2023, lasted 1,021 days and involved about 130 workers across seven workshops demanding a collective agreement.
The dispute had expanded beyond Sweden, with dockworkers in Denmark, Norway, and Finland blocking Tesla shipments and other unions refusing to service the company. Tesla, which has no factories in Sweden, resisted signing a collective agreement, fearing it could set a precedent for labor organizers elsewhere in Europe.
The union confirmed that enough workers accepted the severance offers to effectively end the strike, with no members left to represent. Sympathy actions across the Nordics will also cease as a result.