{"id":62075,"date":"2023-09-17T09:35:41","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T13:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/investing\/uaw-contract-negotiations-resumed-saturday-as-auto-makers-announce-layoffs\/"},"modified":"2023-09-17T09:35:44","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T13:35:44","slug":"uaw-contract-negotiations-resumed-saturday-as-auto-makers-announce-layoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=62075","title":{"rendered":"UAW Contract Negotiations Resumed Saturday as Auto Makers Announce Layoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The United Auto Workers returned to the bargaining table with Detroit auto makers Saturday after union leaders took the day Friday to join picket lines at three plants where workers are on strike. <\/p>\n

The UAW kicked off the resumed negotiations with
\n Ford Motor,<\/span>
\n the union confirmed to Barron\u2019s<\/em>. The union called the conversations \u201creasonably productive,\u201d but didn\u2019t elaborate.<\/p>\n

\n

The negotiations resume as two of the Big Three U.S. manufacturers have started to lay off employees as a result of the strike.<\/p>\n

The UAW officially went on strike early Friday morning, after contracts between the union and
\n Ford
\n (ticker: F),
\n General Motors
\n (GM), and
\n Stellantis N.V.
\n (STLA) expired late Thursday evening. More than 12,000 UAW members are on strike across different locals targeting all three auto makers at once\u2014a departure from the union\u2019s past strategy of targeting one company. <\/p>\n

Workers are on strike at GM\u2019s Wentzville Assembly in Missouri, Stellantis\u2019 Toledo, Ohio, Jeep assembly complex, and select departments in Ford\u2019s assembly plant in Michigan. <\/p>\n

The planned layoffs show the unpredictable consequences of targeted strikes in an industry where factories are interconnected. Shortages of parts in one plant can slow or halt production at others. Layoffs are also a way for the companies to put pressure on the union.<\/p>\n

Ford and General Motors announced late Friday they were considering laying off about 600 and 2,000 workers, respectively. Both sets of layoffs are in departments that aren\u2019t currently striking, the companies said, but are rather knock-on effects from the strike. <\/p>\n

At Ford, the layoffs affect workers in the body construction and stamping departments within its Michigan assembly plant. These departments didn\u2019t go on strike, but they require components completed in striking departments, Ford said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur production system is highly interconnected, which means the UAW\u2019s targeted strike strategy will have knock-on effects for facilities that aren\u2019t directly targeted for a work stoppage,\u201d a Ford spokesman said in a statement to Barron\u2019s<\/em>.<\/p>\n

GM expects that roughly 2,000 workers at its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas could be idled as early as next week as a result of the union\u2019s strike at the Wentzville Assembly plant in Missouri.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is due to a shortage of critical stampings supplied by Wentzville\u2019s stamping operations to Fairfax,\u201d the company said in a statement. \u201cWe are working under an expired agreement at Fairfax. Unfortunately, there are no provisions that allow for company-provided SUB-pay in this circumstance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stellantis said Saturday it was not seeing any knock-on effects from the strike at other plants.<\/p>\n

In a Saturday statement<\/a> posted on X (formerly Twitter), the UAW said it would make sure any workers laid off \u201cwill not go without an income.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be clear: if the Big Three decide to lay people off who aren\u2019t on strike, that\u2019s them trying to put the squeeze on our members to settle for less,\u201d said UAW President Shawn Fain. \u201cWith their record profits, they don\u2019t have to lay off a single employee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heading into the bargaining session, there was still a wide gap between the union\u2019s requests and the car makers\u2019 counteroffers, Fain said when speaking to the press after a rally in Detroit Friday. <\/p>\n

The union initially sought a 40% increase over four years, along with several other benefits, including cost of living adjustments, a 32-hour workweek, and medical benefits for retirees. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we get to where we feel to be, we can take an agreement to our members, we\u2019ll do that,\u201d Fain said when asked if the union was willing to come down to a 30% range for wage increases. <\/p>\n

The latest offer from auto makers was a 20% wage increase. Stellantis said Saturday it had raised its offer to a 21% cumulative wage increase, with a 10% bump at the time of ratification. Benefit offers varied depending on the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to have a viable industry for the Big Three and at the end of the day, we have to be able to compete against the non-union competitors here in the U.S.,\u201d said Mark Stewart, Stellantis chief operating officer, on a Saturday call with reporters.<\/p>\n

Write to Sabrina Escobar at sabrina.escobar@barrons.com<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n