This book examines the role that European employee representatives play in the restructuring of firms. In a globalized economy, company internationalization and transnational restructuring are of growing concern for employees and trade unions. In the European Union, the still rather new institution of European works councils provides basic rights for employees. Using examples of eight large automotive manufacturers like Volkswagen, GM or Toyota, the volume analyzes the internationalization strategies of the companies and the effects of European works councils, pointing to a high degree of variation in strategies and effectiveness of cross-border employee representation.

Although many books have been written about the economic impact of globalization on Europe, none has focused exclusively on the pharmaceutical industry. To fill this gap in scholarship, "Globalization and Industrial Relations" offers a full account of how open markets have affected drug companies, their employees, and consumers alike.
Using the examples of Germany and the United Kingdom as case studies, this volume uses a careful theoretical background and broad empirical analysis to evaluate the current state of industrial relations in the pharmaceutical industry. "Globalisation and Industrial Relations" addresses how companies in the pharmaceutical industry deal with the challenges from globalization in respect to collective bargaining and workplace representation. A complete analysis of industrial relations in the drug manufacturing industry in a changing world, this volume also forecasts different trajectories for the systems of industrial relations in Germany and the United Kingdom.