Concerns about global labor practices are growing as companies like Stellantis seek to hire cheaper employees abroad
- Unions are spreading beyond the Big Three and transforming the automotive industry in America.
- Thousands of employees have been laid off or taken on in recent years.
The UAW won a once-unimaginable victory last month when workers at the Volkswagen Chattanooga plant voted to join the union. That momentum could continue next week as about 5,000 employees in Vance, Alabama, will vote on whether or not to unionize a Mercedes plant.
However, we are more interested in white-collar workers as automakers appear determined to reduce their numbers. Tesla and Stellantis have recently made high-profile layoffs, but they are far from alone, as Ford and General Motors also cut jobs last year. While a number of reductions have been achieved through acquisitions, taking on cash or taking risk are not two options that should be presented to you.
More: Stellantis hires $50,000 engineers in Brazil and India instead of $150,000 engineers in America
With this in mind, we ask our readers whether employees should be the next group to join a union. There is usually some animosity between employees and workers, but everyone wants a secure, well-paying job.
However, many companies seem more concerned with appeasing investors and improving bottom lines. This is particularly true for Stellantis, as the company doesn’t seem particularly interested in maintaining its North American headquarters and has reportedly focused on hiring cheaper employees.
Instead of recruiting people from America and Europe, the company is said to be recruiting engineers from Brazil, India and Morocco to save money. The automaker could reportedly save about $100,000 to $150,000 annually for each hire in a developing country.
Tesla has also implemented widespread layoffs, reportedly affecting a wide range of workers, including engineers and the Supercharger team. Some of these firings reportedly occurred over the weekend and in emotionless emails.
This brings us to our current question: Should employees unionize? The move could potentially make it harder for automakers to make drastic cuts, or at least force them to pay high costs to do so. However, any attempt would likely be an uphill battle.