Port Work in Transition: Automation and the Changing Nature of Work in Bremerhaven from Workers’ Perspectives

Accompanying study for the Change4Port project: in cooperation with BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg and Ruhr University Bochum

Starting point

As part of the project Change4Port – Social-partnership transformation in container handling in Bremerhaven, a skilled labour strategy is being developed, piloted, and implemented for the individual companies as well as for the port as a whole. An accompanying study, conducted in cooperation with the Arbeitnehmerkammer Bremen (Chamber of Employees), Ruhr University Bochum, and BTU Cottbus–Senftenberg, specifically focuses on employees’ perspectives on transformation processes in the port.

Against the backdrop of increasing competitive pressure, companies and municipalities at port locations are investing in the expansion and development of infrastructure and superstructure. Digitalisation and automation technologies play a key role in this context. Their deployment fundamentally reshapes work and organisational processes, thus work content, job profiles, qualification requirements, as well as employment structures and volumes. For many port employees, this change comes with increased pressure to adapt: existing tasks are fully or partly substituted, labour demand in these areas declines, and at the same time new tasks emerge that require expanded specialist knowledge as well as control, steering, and coordination skills.

Research interest

The accompanying research study examines how port workers subjectively perceive and process port transformation and its effects on working and employment conditions. At the centre are their expectations, concerns, and wishes regarding organisational and technological change; their assessments of shifts in competencies and their positioning within the company; and, subsequently, their attitudes toward qualification and training measures. To capture employees’ perspectives, the study analyses, first, existing orientations toward work, labour relations, and co-determination. Second, it investigates how employees perceive and evaluate supra-company and societal dynamics of change. This includes developments that are intensifying in ports, such as aspects of socio-ecological transformation, changing competitive conditions, privatisation processes, and geopolitical tensions.

Methodological approach

To address the research questions, the accompanying study uses a mixed-methods design. In a first step, a standardised survey will be conducted. It provides a representative overview of the thematic areas mentioned above and collects demographic and job-related characteristics of the workforce. In the subsequent qualitative phase of the project, problem-centred interviews with employees will be carried out in order to analyse subjective perceptions and interpretations in greater depth.

Duration:

01/01/2026-12/31/2026

Funding:

The project is funded by the Arbeitnehmerkammer Bremen (Chamber of Employees).

Projekt team: