Employment Relations in Subsidiaries of U.S.-Based Multinationals: Ireland as a Host Country

Abstract

The impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on employment relations in host countries has a long research pedigree. Much recent work has focused on the capacity of multinational companies (MNCs) to effect change, not just in the domain of workplace employment relations practice, but also on host-country employment relations systems and traditions. Drawing largely on case data, this article evaluates the employment relations approaches of U.S.-based MNC subsidiaries in Ireland.1 We find that U.S. MNCs have been primary movers behind the now-widespread practice of union avoidance in the FDI sector and, more generally, have been instrumental in the evolution of a host business system which presents comparatively few obstacles to US MNCs in implementing policies congruent with home-country traditions.