Workplace innovation has a long tradition in the German Automotive Industry. Inspired by Volvo’s experiments, German car companies throughout the 1980s and 1990s implemented various forms of participation-oriented forms of teamwork granting autonomy to shopfloor workers. Although work organisation has been modified during the last two to three decades, the automotive industry is still a stronghold of worker participation in Germany.

The webinar looks into current developments in the German automotive industry. How is the ongoing dual transformation of decarbonisation and digitalisation impacting workplace innovation for shopfloor workers? Based on case studies in German OEM and suppliers, the webinar will discuss a polarisation trend within workplace innovation. While the core workforces of OEM and large suppliers enjoy relatively stable forms of workplace innovation, the opportunities for contingent workers and the employees of suppliers are shrinking.