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Tuesday 8 June 2021, 09:30 - 12:30

Much attention is being paid to phasing out coal. This is fully justified, at the same time the jobs depending on coal make up ~0,015% of European jobs, whereas for the automobile industry this share is over 6%. The stakes in the automobile industry are particularly high and the transformation is also more complex than in other sectors, besides decarbonisation, the digitalisation of both the production and the product and a reconfiguration of the global supply chains of the industry are proceeding simultaneously. And all this is happening at an accelerating pace.

With the support of the European Climate Foundation, the ETUI has started a project to map the employment effects of a fast and ambitious transition to electromobility. How can Europe make this sharp turn towards electric vehicles without losing ground and industrial competence and keep job losses at a minimum?

The aim of this workshop is to discuss critical issues, challenges and research assumptions in an open debate (what is at stake). Representatives from trade unions will be involved in the debate.

Agenda
9.30 - 9.45 - Welcome by Philippe Pochet (ETUI) and Pete Harrison (ECF)

9.45 - 10.00 - Objectives and structure of the project Bela Galgoczi (ETUI)

10.00 - 10.40 Panel 1: Is the transition towards battery electric vehicles (BEV) inevitable by now and what does this mean for car industry jobs?

More ambitious policy framework (EU, China, US)
Fast technological change: more affordable and longer range BEVs in sight
Opting for BEVs is now also driven by markets
Main manufacturers start outbidding each other with BEV objectives
Tommaso Pardi, Gerpisa (Paris), Martin Krzywdzinski, WZB (Berlin), Anne-Gaelle Lefeuvre/ Sebastian Schulze-Marmeling, Syndex (Paris), Comments by Christian Brunkhorst, IG Metall

10.40 - 11.00 Discussion

11.00 - 11.10 Break

11.10 - 11.50 Panel 2: The Battery race: what is at stake for Europe and what are the prospects?

Wolfgang Schade, M-FIVE Consultancy (Karlsruhe), Boy Lüthje, South China University (Guangzhou), Comments by Benjamin Denis (IndustriAll), and Sigrid de Vries (Clepa)

11.50 - 12.10 Discussion

12.10 - 13.00 Roundtable discussion: Policy recommendations - what to expect from the EU for a just and ambitious transformation of the automobile industry?

Judith Kirton-Darling, deputy general secretary, IndustriAll,
Christian Brunkhorst, IG Metall, Sigrid de Vries, Clepa

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