Technological Change in an Auto Assembly Plant

This article explores the impact of technological change and organizational restructuring on workers at the General Motors assembly plant in Linden, New Jersey. An in-plant worker survey was conducted as well as extensive interviews with workers, managers, and union officials. Changes in the plant polarized the work force: Skilled trades workers have experienced skill upgrading and gained more responsibility for maintaining and managing the new equipment, while production workers have undergone deskilling and find themselves increasingly subordinated to the new technology.