Class vs. climate? Conflicts around transformation policies in the car industry

Abstract

Ecological mega-threats such as climate change affect everyone, but may not make everyone equal. The neglect of class in ecological politics contributes to the fact that measures against global warming encounter social barriers. This is why the socio-ecological transformation is conflict-laden. Through in-depth empirical research into two German car factories, the article illustrates how management and workforce in a carbon-based industry navigate these changes. The factories examined represent class societies in miniature, constituting social arenas where the sustainability transformation not only changes the game, but also the rules by which company actors operate. The class axis and the ecological axis must be examined in their respective peculiarities to understand their interactions in transformation conflicts. This is the only way to explain why conflicts can unfold in a transformative or conservative direction. The attitude of company interest groups and trade union structures, as well as the influence of outside veto players (climate movements, the far right) have a significant impact on conflict dynamics. Cross-case analysis reveals that institutionally contained class conflicts in co-managed companies are increasingly turning into socio-ecological transformation conflicts. These are multi-level conflicts where ownership-based decision-making power plays a central role. No ecological class is emerging beyond production, nor is an ecological proletariat taking shape. Instead, a transformation corporatism prevails, encountering class-specific boundaries due to the decision-making monopoly over business models held by owners and strategic management.