Work and employment in the lithium-ion battery industry for electric vehicles

Abstract:

The article develops a general overview of the main economic, political and institutional factors that are shaping the structuring of the fast-emerging lithium-ion battery industry for electric vehicles and their implications for the quality of jobs that are created. It also characterises the evolving employment relationships of the three main groups of battery makers: the incumbent group of East-Asia companies; the ‘start-up’ group of industrial developers; and the OEMs owned group (joint ventures and direct investments). It discusses these developments from the viewpoints of two distinct literatures: the global value chain literature and the productive model literature.