Dream factory

the case of Mercedes-Benz in Iracemápolis-SP

Abstract

There are several analytical possibilities when we consider the arrival of a large car factory in a small town that has no industrial tradition. The context of the company’s global expansion strategies, national policies to promote the sector, the local economic impact of the factory can all be studied, including the symbolic meaning it instills in the various subjects linked to it. This work analyzes the Mercedes-Benz plant in the city of Iracemápolis, a municipality of São Paulo state, Brazil. This comprised an exploratory study, given the plant’s short time in operation. Data were collected from newspapers databases and journals, site visits were carried out and in-depth interviews were conducted with the following stakeholders: three workers, two former workers, two outsourced workers, the municipal mayor and his secretary, an MP, two local trade-unionists and one international labor representative. Content analysis with open coding was the chosen method for data analysis. In the development of the work, we sought to reconstruct the short trajectory of the company in that location (2016-2020), analyzing its productive structure, employment, labor relations and, mainly, the perception of workers about its presence. The narrative construction offered by interviewees provided us with an interesting dive into their social imaginary, within a context of ephemeral “engagement” of a multinational company in the automobile sector adopting the CKD (Completely Knock-Down) model, in a municipality of São Paulo state.