Speaking at a panel hosted by FIOM-CGIL and IG Metall, industriAll Europe General Secretary Judith Kirton-Darling called for urgent action to defend jobs and secure the future of Europe’s automotive industry.
At a high-level panel discussion organised by industriAll Europe’s affiliates FIOM-CGIL and IG Metall on 1 July in Bologna, Judith Kirton-Darling issued a stark warning about the deepening crisis facing European automotive workers and called for coordinated European action to defend employment, deliver a proactive industrial policy, and ensure a fair transition to sustainable mobility. Participating in the panel were Michele De Palma, General Secretary of FIOM-CGIL, and Flavio Benites, head of IG Metall Wolfsburg (Germany).
Judith Kirton-Darling emphasised that Europe’s automotive workers are facing a perfect storm of challenges – from falling demand, due to the cost of living crisis, to fierce global competition and the disruptive shift to electric and digital technologies without adequate tools to manage the transformation.
“Our top priority is clear – protecting jobs and workers’ rights during this unprecedented transformation,” she stated. “But right now, the numbers paint a grim picture. Today’s business model based on profit maximisation cannot deliver the transformation needed”.
A sector in urgent need of a strong industrial policy
According to Eurofound, nearly 90,000 job losses occurred in the European automotive sector in 2024 alone – primarily in the supply chain. EU car production has dropped 20% since 2019, with only 11.4 million cars produced in 2024 compared to 14.4 million in 2019 (15.8 million including the UK).
The root causes, according to the intervention, are threefold:
- Affordability Crisis – Europeans cannot afford the vehicles being produced. Real wages across much of Europe have failed to keep pace with inflation, while the average price of new cars has surged by 30% in the past decade. Corporate strategies prioritising profit margins over affordability are a major contributor, with OEMs capturing record profits and paying out $30 billion in dividends in 2023 alone.
- Global Trade Imbalance – The EU’s auto parts trade balance with China has swung from a €7.3 billion surplus in 2014 to a €21 billion deficit in 2024, driven by lax trade policy and short-term cost-cutting strategies by European manufacturers. Meanwhile workers are calling for a negotiated solution to US unilateral tariffs to avoid a prolonged trade war. Trade wars always hurt working people and the vulnerable hardest.
- Technological Transition – The shift to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and digitalisation is inherently less labour-intensive and is already leading to structural job losses. While new jobs could be created in battery and charging infrastructure, recent developments (such as the setback at Northvolt) indicate that this potential remains uncertain without proactive industrial policy.
A Call for Coordinated Action
IndustriAll Europe has welcomed the new focus on European industrial policy. The EU Industrial Action Plan for the European Automotive sector, published in March 2025, as an important step in the right direction but has emphasised that more is needed to safeguard jobs. In her intervention, Judith Kirton-Darling therefore called for a bold European industrial strategy that addresses the entire automotive supply chain and places a strong emphasis on safeguarding employment and upholding workers’ rights.
Key policy demands include:
- European content requirements and incentives to bolster local manufacturing;
- Support for domestic demand, including through social leasing, public procurement, and strategic corporate fleet purchases;
- A robust social chapter, featuring effective conditionalities, job preservation safeguards, an improved European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF), and stronger social dialogue mechanisms;
- A balanced trade policy that defends European interests while seeking negotiated global solutions;
- A commitment to climate goals, paired with pragmatic policy reviews to address real-world implementation challenges.
“We do not oppose the transition,” Judith Kirton-Darling affirmed. “But we demand a fair, negotiated, and job-rich transition – not a race to the bottom that sacrifices workers for shareholder profits. We know that delayed climate action will cost more and entail even more brutal restructuring.
“Defending jobs in the automotive sector is not just about the economy – it’s about democracy. If we leave working people behind, we leave the door wide open for the far right to exploit their anger and fears. We must offer hope through good industrial jobs.”
The panel hosted by FIOM-CGIL and IG Metall brought together Italian and German trade unionists and trade union leaders representing workers in the automotive sector.
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