Geographies of labor in the meat industry
The subproject looks at labor and production relations in the German meat industry, placing special emphasis on the situation of migrant workers from countries such as Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. Their working and living conditions have often been characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and, more recently, they have become a subject of public debate—yet they have barely been broadly and systematically researched. How exactly, then, do production structures, migration, and state regulations work together in the meat industry? And to what extent do they divide employees by, for example, origin, gender, family status, and qualifications?
The project uses findings in the sociology of labor, labor geography, and migration research. Based on the respective concrete production relations and their organization, we will analyze the relationship between corporate strategies, migration regimes, and state regulation in an international labor market. The project will focus on different dimensions of potentially uncertain work and living conditions, the ways they are subjectively understood, and possible related conflicts.