A long-running strike by Swedish union workers at some of the facilities of Tesla Inc. has been curtailed, according to a report by newspaper Dagens Industri.

The strike has been called off at workshops in the cities of Malmo and Uppsala with employees receiving a notice from the IF Metall union, Dagens Industri reported on May 29, without saying where it got the information.

IF Metall has been engaged in a labor dispute with Tesla in Sweden since October 2023. The conflict began after Tesla declined to sign a collective bargaining agreement with the union, a cornerstone of Sweden’s labor model. 

The broader labor dispute remains active at other sites across the Nordic country, with a union spokesperson saying in emailed comments to Bloomberg that “the conflict is not over” and that it is “prepared to sit down with Tesla and negotiate a collective agreement at any time.”

The walkout has expanded since 2023 through sympathy actions from other Nordic labor groups, affecting areas including vehicle servicing, port handling and logistics.

The strike by IF Metall at Tesla’s Swedish service operations has remained small in scale, with union statements describing participation as narrowing to dozens of workers rather than a full workforce walkout.

But operations in Sweden, where there’s a legal system protecting sympathy actions, have nevertheless suffered a setback as the dispute drew in other unions across transport, postal and electrical industries.

Nordic Model

The standoff has tested Tesla in one of the world’s most unionized regions, where collective bargaining agreements underpin much of the labor market. 

In Sweden, wages and workplace conditions are typically governed through union agreements rather than legislation, and labor leaders have argued that Tesla’s refusal to sign a deal challenges the Nordic employment model.

The dispute drew scrutiny from major Nordic investors including Nordea Asset Management and Folksam Group. In 2024, several of the region’s largest asset managers backed a shareholder proposal urging Tesla to formally commit to respecting freedom of association and collective bargaining rights. 

The shareholder resolution was rejected at the company’s 2024 annual meeting after the board had recommended against the measure, arguing in proxy filings that Tesla already safeguards employee rights. 

Still, the vote underscored investor concern about Tesla’s handling of labor relations in Sweden.