At Tesla's general meeting this spring, AMF, together with several other institutional shareholders, intends to demand that Tesla establish the employees' right to organize themselves into a union.
- Conflicts are not good for their long-term earnings, says AMF's head of asset management Tomas Flodén.
The pension administrator AMF owns Tesla shares worth approximately SEK 2 billion.
In March 2023, AMF sent a letter to Tesla's management in which the fund company demanded that Tesla not violate American labor law.
AMF has not yet received a response.
Labor law
Tesla's disputes in Sweden are not unique.
In the US, Tesla has been sued over 240 times since 2015 in cases dealing with labor law.
Many of the cases concern the legal right to organize.
- We don't think it's a long-term profitable way to run a business.
If you look at the Swedish model and the successes of the Swedish industry, it is more about having a good and positive cooperation with the trade unions, says Tomas Flodén.
Acts at the general meeting
Even the state's Seventh AP Fund has grown tired of the conflicts surrounding Tesla.
The fund, which owns Tesla shares worth around SEK 9 billion, will, together with the state of New York, make a proposal at the general meeting regarding Tesla's many labor law conflicts related to harassment of employees.
- This is also a risk for an investor because they can end up in court, they risk problems with authorities and in the long run it damages their ability to recruit people, says Johan Florén, the pension fund's head of sustainability.
May be relevant to sell
According to the AMF, it may eventually be appropriate to sell the shareholding in Tesla.
- If it turns out that they actually violate one of the UN conventions, for example the right to organize, then we feel that we will not be able to own them, says Tomas Flodén.
SVT has sought Tesla's management for a comment.