Europe’s automotive workforce needs Just Transition framework, warn trade unions, industry, employers and NGOs

In an open letter to Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, trade unions, auto industry associations, employers and environmental organisations call for urgent action to guarantee a just transition for Europe’s auto workers ahead of the publication of the ‘Fit for 55’ climate package.

“Next week the Commission is set to publish the much-anticipated Fit for 55 package, which will set out the regulatory framework to implement the EU’s Green Deal, Climate Law and increased 2030 targets. As industry, trade unions, employers and environmental organisations, we support the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 and the need for increased ambition in 2030 to reach this.

Given the number of jobs at stake and the magnitude of the ongoing transformation, social disruption due to a badly managed transition might severely undermine the ability of the European Green Deal to succeed. We encourage the Commission to come forward with a Just Transition framework for the automotive and wider mobility eco-system as a matter of urgency.

Currently, there is no such framework for the 16 million workers in our mobility eco-system, and notably Europe’s automotive sector which is a powerhouse of industrial employment. The auto sector accounts for more than 6% of European employment overall and 8.5% of European manufacturing jobs.”

The full open letter can be found here.