Strike action to save the life of a plant is followed by its ‘honourable death’: the conflict at AEG in Nuremberg

Abstract

In early 2006, the workers of the Electrolux AEG factory in Nuremberg went on strike against the relocation of production to eastern Europe. The 43-day strike received a huge amount of support and solidarity at regional, national and international level. In the end, the union agreed to a compromise, obtaining relatively high severance payments, but consenting to the closure of the plant. This article retraces the development of the conflict, analyses the ‘resources of solidarity’ and tries to evaluate its outcome in a regional and international perspective.