After a calm day last Friday, the UAW (United Auto Workers) suddenly announced that workers at Ford's Kentucky truck plant would go on strike, and 8,700 workers would participate in a strike rally. This move surprised the market and was seen as an escalation of the UAW's actions. The Ford Kentucky Truck Plant is one of the world's largest auto plants and Ford's largest plant. It produces some of Ford's most important models, including heavy-duty F-Series trucks and full-size SUVs, and has always created huge profits for Ford.
UAW President Shawn Fain said the union has made it very clear and has been waiting for a long time, but Ford still has not responded. If automakers can't understand the union's demands, hopefully the closure of Ford's truck plants will help them.
According to a Ford executive, Ford and the UAW almost broke up on bad terms Wednesday night. The union wants Ford to offer a different offer than it had previously proposed, putting it ahead of General Motors and Stellantis for a 23% wage increase. But after a few minutes of brief discussion, Fain ended the meeting by saying Ford had lost the truck plant.
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Ford's Kentucky plant generates about $25 billion in revenue annually, accounting for about one-sixth of the world's total revenue.
Ford pointed out that the shutdown of this factory will create very large risks. About a dozen Ford factories and more supplier factories will be affected, affecting more than 100,000 employees.
Since September 15, the UAW has been on strike not only against Ford, but also against General Motors and Stellantis. The union's attack on Ford has been focused on a plant in Wayne, Mich., and a Chicago assembly plant, which are not Ford's main sources of profit.
The escalation at the Kentucky auto plant is not the first time the UAW has expanded strikes to include other facilities, but it is the first time it has expanded its strikes to include more targets without any advance warning.
According to people familiar with the matter, the focus of this week's negotiations is on the union status and retirement security of future workers at the battery plant. The union hopes that Ford will align with General Motors and allow battery plant workers to join the union and continue to increase its offer.
However, Ford believed that it had offered the best terms among the three major manufacturers. The union decided to reject this record contract offer and directed a strike at the Kentucky plant, which brought serious consequences to Ford, customers and suppliers.