Home>Mobilising work and demobilising labour under contemporary monopoly capitalism
09.10.2024
Mobilising work and demobilising labour under contemporary monopoly capitalism
Francesco S. Massimo soutient une thèse de sociologie réalisée au CSO sous la direction de Jérôme Pélisse, et intitulée:
« Mobilising work and demobilising labour under contemporary monopoly capitalism. A comparative study of the labour process and industrial relations in Amazon’s logistics network ».
La soutenance aura lieu vendredi 18 octobre 2024 à 14h00 à l'IEP de Paris.
Le jury sera composé de :
- Sophie BEROUD, Professeure des universités, Université Lumière Lyon-2 (Rapportrice)
- Cédric DURAND, Professeur associé, Université de Génève
- Guglielmo MEARDI, Professore ordinario, Scuola Normale Superiore
- Jérôme PELISSE, Professeur des universités, Sciences Po Paris (Directeur de thèse)
- Maite TAPIA, Associate professor, Michigan State University (Rapportrice)
Abstract
This thesis contributes to the study of one of the largest contemporary companies and perhaps the most representative of contemporary capitalism: Amazon. The main goal of this thesis is to bring labour back to the core of the analysis, showing its centrality in the production of value, even in those giant corporations called “digital monopolies”.
With its vast logistics network and millions of employees scattered across dozens of countries, Amazon is an ideal case study for understanding (1) why these monopolies, despite their “digital” nature, rely on massive physical infrastructures and how these infrastructures depends on the activity of millions of workers – in the case of Amazon, wage-workers, particularly in logistics warehouses; (2) how Amazon manages this workforce in order to mobilise the effort of employees while simultaneously demobilising their resistance, but above all how these strategies change at the same time as the evolution of Amazon’s profit strategy (3) how the “disruptive” power of digital monopolies unfolds in historical and institutional contexts other than those of the United States, particularly in terms of labour regulations and its impact on working conditions in Amazon’s workplace.
To answer these three questions, the thesis mobilises the results of a multi-level investigation: the level of the labour process, studied through participant observation, interviews with employees and written sources; the level of Amazon’s profit strategy, examining the company’s balance sheets, interviewing management, and analysing vast secondary sources; the level of industrial relations, local and transnational, analysed through the direct observation of trade union activities, interviews and secondary sources.
Keywords: Digital monopoly capitalism, Labour process, Comparative industrial relations, Amazon.
