Swedish Court Upholds Ruling Against Tesla In Labor Dispute

A Swedish district court has upheld a preliminary ruling that Sweden's postal service, Postnord, does not need to deliver license plates to Tesla, as postal workers are blocking them as part of a broader labor union sympathy strike, Louise Breusch Rasmussen reported for Reuters.

The Nordic region is a crucial market for Tesla, which has a policy of not agreeing to collective bargaining and claims its staffers receive terms as good as, or better than, those IF Metall is demanding. I Photo: Tesla X

The U.S. carmaker faces pressure in the Nordic countries from powerful employee unions supporting mechanics from Sweden’s IF Metall union, who went on strike in October 2023, demanding a collective bargaining agreement with the company.

Despite the postal blockade making access to license plates more difficult, Swedish media has reported that Tesla found ways to circumvent the unions by asking car buyers to order plates themselves.

The Nordic region is a crucial market for Tesla, which has a policy of not agreeing to collective bargaining and claims its staffers receive terms as good as, or better than, those IF Metall is demanding.

The electric vehicle maker has increased its sales and boosted its share of the Swedish car market in 2024 despite the labor boycott, according to car sales data released earlier this month.