ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the process of technological change in a Spanish steel plant during three decades of industrial restructuring. A government-backed restructuring process took place during the 1980s and 1990s, leading up to the privatization of the plant and its internationalization as part of a global steel producer. Unpacking the relations between politics, technology and steelmaking, I address the political and economic context of transformations in models of productivity, technology and production in the Spanish steel industry. I focus on the impact of these changes on the workforce, and the resulting ambivalence among steel workers and stakeholders regarding ‘the future’: the future of the industry is predicated on technological innovation, but at the cost of increasing deregulation and instability for the workforce. I explore how the future is reimagined through technology in the context of changing relations and contexts of production.
