From Cars to Climate: Exploring Worker and Manager Perceptions in Slovakia and Spain’s Automotive Sectors

Abstract:

Purpose:

The automotive industry stands at the centre of global transformations toward electrification and digitalization, often referred to as the „twin transition“ (Carbonell 2024). These shifts present significant challenges for labour relations, employment structures, and workplace practices (Calabrese 2012). However, these structural changes are not isolated from broader societal challenges and impacts. Climate change affects both professional and personal lives of employees within the industry, often intertwining and influencing each other, as they navigate the pressures of adapting to new technologies while coping with the increasingly visible consequences of environmental degradation (Brooks and Greenberg 2023).

Therefore, this study seeks to explore how skilled workers and managers in the automotive sectors of Slovakia and Spain perceive and adapt to these changes in their daily routines. Specifically, it examines how environmental measures and climate change influence their job quality, skill requirements, and the organization of work and personal life. Additionally, it investigates perceptions of fairness and the balance between individual and collective responsibilities in addressing climate challenges not only within but also outside of their workplace.

Design:

This study is based on 17 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted in November and December 2024 with 10 skilled workers and managers from the Slovak automotive industry and 7 from its Spanish counterpart. A semi-structured interview guide was employed to explore various themes that can be summarized in the following three areas: (1) the daily work experiences of participants, including workplace organization and task allocation; (2) perceptions of environmental regulations and their impact on job security and working and living conditions; and (3) attitudes toward individual, collective, and institutional responses to climate change.

Based on the Slovak and Spanish cases, a comparative approach investigates the understanding of how local economic, institutional, and cultural conditions shape responses to the twin transition and climate change. The interviews are systematically analysed using thematic coding to identify common patterns and contextual variations between the two countries.

Findings:

Preliminary observations from the interviews reveal diverse perspectives and experiences surrounding the twin transition in the automotive industry. Respondents noted several shifts in workplace dynamics as electrification reshapes the sector. Optimism about emerging opportunities in electric vehicle and battery production was tempered by concerns over job security, potential skill mismatches as well as environmental impacts. We found that interpretations of environmental policies varied across contexts, with participants expressing both recognition of the need for climate measures and apprehension about their impact on workloads, job quality, and the equitable distribution of costs.

Worker and citizen involvement in decision-making processes also emerged as a key theme. Some participants described hierarchical structures that limit autonomy, while others highlighted collaborative efforts to adapt to new demands. Perspectives on addressing climate change ranged from emphasizing personal responsibility to advocating for collective, institutional action. Many emphasized the significance of ensuring a fair transition, while simultaneously expressing scepticism regarding the adequacy of existing measures or, alternatively, questioning their appropriateness.

Several distinctions between the Slovak and Spanish cases emerged, reflecting variations in institutional support, industrial policies, and cultural attitudes toward climate change and electrification. Providing an initial understanding of how the twin transition and climate change impact workers and managers in the automotive industry, our findings emphasize the necessity for targeted policies and strategies that address labour and citizen concerns while advancing environmental objectives. The following analysis will explore these themes further, offering more comprehensive insights into how electrification and climate change are reshaping both personal and professional lives across different contexts.

Significance and implications:

This study offers a nuanced perspective on how skilled workers and managers in Slovakia and Spain’s automotive sector perceive and adapt to the simultaneous transition and climate change in their professional and daily routines. By examining their experiences, it highlights the challenges of ensuring job security, skill development, and safe workplaces, as well as personal adaptation to environmental (just) transition policies (Morena, Krause, and Stevis 2020). Practically, the findings highlight the need for targeted strategies to support a just transition, underscoring the importance of collaboration between stakeholders to address job quality and skill mismatches while addressing broader environmental and climate challenges and their implications for human well-being (Galgóczi 2020). Theoretically, this research contributes to understanding labour relations within the broader context of industrial restructuring and decarbonization, providing insights into how global environmental goals and impacts interact with local workplace realities and institutional frameworks (Rísquez Ramos and Ruiz-Gálvez 2024). Moreover, the link between individual experiences and larger structural changes in this study offers a grounded understanding of how macro-level transitions shape micro-level routines, perspectives and expectations of employees, as well as a holistic view of the green transition´s impacts.

Sources

Brooks, S K, and N Greenberg. 2023. ‘Climate Change Effects on Mental Health: Are There Workplace Implications?’ Occupational Medicine 73 (3): 133–37. https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqac100.

Calabrese, Giuseppe, ed. 2012. The Greening of the Automotive Industry. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137018908.

Carbonell, Juan Sebastian. 2024. ‘In Search of the Twin Transition: The Limited Performativity of the « green and Digital » Transitions in the European Automotive Industry’. JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology 2024–05. Joint Research Centre. https://econpapers.repec.org/paper/iptlaedte/202405.htm.

Galgóczi, Béla. 2020. ‘Just Transition on the Ground: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Dialogue’. European Journal of Industrial Relations 26 (4): 367–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959680120951704.

Morena, Edouard, Dunja Krause, and Dimitris Stevis. 2020. Just Transitions: Social Justice in the Shift towards a Low-Carbon World. Pluto Press.

Rísquez Ramos, Mario, and María Eugenia Ruiz-Gálvez. 2024. ‘The Transformation of the Automotive Industry toward Electrification and Its Impact on Global Value Chains: Inter-Plant Competition, Employment, and Supply Chains’. European Research on Management and Business Economics 30 (1): 100242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2024.100242.