The unprecedented U.S. autoworkers strike has begun to change direction. Car companies and labor unions have been at odds with each other since the beginning, and now they are at war with each other. If you push me for a while, the car companies will start to "counterattack". The most direct way is-layoffs. A month ago, GM, affected by the strike, closed an assembly plant and laid off 2,000 employees. It is reported that these 2,000 employees are not eligible for unemployment subsidies provided by GM.
Subsequently, other car companies began to follow suit. In the latest news, Ford also said that it would lay off an additional 550 workers at several factories in the Midwest due to the strike.
The union originally wanted to use the strike to force the car companies to compromise, but things are getting worse and worse. Now the Big Three are gradually starting topassive acceptance, transformed intoproactive layoffs.
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Nearly 6,000 employees have been laid off
The United Auto Workers (UAW) and Detroit's three giants, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis, have been preparing for the next four years since mid-July.Labor contract negotiation, and it has continued until now. The two sides have pushed back and forth several times without reaching an agreement.
Negotiations between the two parties ultimately failed completely on September 14, Eastern Time, and the union united tens of thousands of workers to launch a general strike.
Source:X
The strike has lasted for a month now.More than 34,000UAW members are on strike against the Detroit Big Three, which will undoubtedly have huge impact and losses on the car companies.
Ford was the first car company to be affected. The day after the strike began, Ford issued an announcement stating that it had an assembly plant in Michigan where the UAW was on strike.About 600 people will be temporarily laid off.
A week after the strike, GM couldn't bear it anymore and announced that it was closing an assembly plant in Kansas due to parts shortages caused by the strike, and about 2,000 employees were laid off. GM also said workers laid off as a result of the strike will not be eligible for supplemental unemployment benefits.
Another giant, Stellantis, followed suit, saying it would immediately lay off about 370 employees at three parts plants in Ohio and Indiana due to "inventory constraints" related to the strike.
The layoffs seemed to be the beginning of a counterattack by car companies, followed by waves of workersPassive "run away with a bucket".
Earlier this month, Ford announced that it would lay off an additional 495 employees due to the strike, including 371 employees at the Cleveland Engine Plant in Ohio, 94 employees at the Lima Engine Plant in Ohio, and 25 employees at the Sterling Bearing Plant.
Source:X
Stellantis said on October 13 that it would lay off an additional 700 employees at two factories in Indiana.
This is not over yet. Ford can be said to be the most ruthless in layoffs among the Big Three. It is reported that starting from October 16, Ford will continue to launch layoff plans: a transmission plant in Ohio will lay off about 300 people, four plants in Michigan will lay off about 250 people, and 12 people will be laid off in Chicago.
Since the strike began on September 15 this year,Ford has laid off 2,480 employees so far. As of now, six GM plants have been affected by the strike and have laid off employees.Over 2,300 employees. Even Stellantis, which had the smallest layoffs among the three, also hadOver 1,000 peopleLeave the factory.
In total, due to the ongoing strike this month, the three giants have laid off employees.Nearly 6,000 people.
Source: UAW
Automakers said the temporary layoffs were mainly due to the strike disrupting the production chain.
According to a report released by the economic consulting firm Anderson Economic Group (AEG), as of the end of the third week of the strike, the losses caused to Ford, General Motors and StellantisLosses have reached US$5.5 billion(approximately 40 billion yuan), even exceeding the previous record of total losses of 4 billion US dollars.
The Big Three will spend more on labor costs if a series of union demands are metUS$45 billion-80 billion. In this way, layoffs have become the best solution for car companies to control costs.
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Start a protracted war
Let’s first review this unprecedented U.S. autoworkers strike.
The reason is that the United Automobile Workers Union feels that the current status of workers is too low and their wages and livelihood are not guaranteed. It requires car companies toA 40% salary increase within 4 years, and the elimination of the tiered pay scale system that requires workers to work for 8 years before they are eligible to receive the same pay as older employees. At the same time, it proposes to improve the working environment, ensure employment security, and reduce the use of temporary workers.Waiting for a series of requirements.
However, the three major U.S. car companies believe that this will greatly increase financial pressure, increase annual labor costs by 45 billion to 80 billion US dollars, and directly put themselves into "in-situ bankruptcy".
In the week before the strike, the union and the car companies went through several rounds of negotiations, and the car companies also proposed a salary increase of 17.5% to 20% for workers, but there were no other benefits and they would not modify the salary system in accordance with the union's requirements.
Obviously, the conditions offered by the car companies are not attractive, so starting from midnight on September 14th, Eastern Time, the United Auto Workers union officially launched a strike. This is the first time since the United Auto Workers union was established more than 80 years ago.First simultaneous strike against the three auto giants.
Source:X
Interestingly, next year is the U.S. presidential election. U.S. President Biden and his election opponent Trump have begun to publicly support union strikes, which has also added some political color to the strike.
The strike has been going on for a month, but the auto companies have made compromises. Not long ago, the United Auto Workers union announced that labor contract negotiations between the union and the automakers have made progress and will not expand the scope of the strike again for the time being.
Source: UAW
This is because General Motors has reached a consensus on the inclusion of workers at the joint venture car battery plant in a union agreement. If the other two companies also follow GM's lead, it may clear the way for a final agreement.
You know, the battery factory has been a major point of contention in negotiations between the union and the three giants.
Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have all established joint venture battery factories with battery manufacturers. According to the automakers, these battery factories are owned by the joint ventures, so these battery factories are not and will not be included in the agreements reached between the automakers and the unions.
Ford has continued to compromise on the conditions for salary increases, recently proposing a 23%-26% salary increase based on the classification of the worker, retaining platinum medical benefits, approval bonuses, restoring cost-of-living allowances, and other benefits.
It was this concession that made a Ford executive lament that the conditions provided by the company to the United Auto Workers (UAW) have "reach the limit".
Source:X
Even so, this still could not satisfy the union's demands, so the company launched a strike at Ford's largest and most profitable plant, the Kentucky Truck Plant.8,700Auto workers participated in the strike, which directly led to the shutdown of the factory.
It can be seen that the car companies are trying to compromise, but it is still difficult to meet the union's expectations. Next, there will be a protracted battle.
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“Don’t let Tesla laugh at our jokes”
The continued escalation of strike actions has given these automobile giants a taste of "Go bankrupt soon"feeling.
On the 16th, the Michigan consulting firm Anderson Economic Group released data showing that the current general strike has caused$7.7 billion in losses, of which workers lost US$359 million in wages, the three major auto companies lost US$3.45 billion, dealers and customers lost a total of US$1.21 billion, and suppliers lost at least US$2.67 billion.
So far, the United Automobile Workers Union has closed 6 assembly plants and 38 parts warehouses across the United States.
Source: UAW
Later, it was stated that the strike had entered the danger zone and that if a settlement was not reached soon, permanent losses would be caused and suppliers would even need financial assistance to resume operations. “We have already seen declines in retail sales, air travel and income taxes in Michigan, as well as increased layoffs at disadvantaged suppliers, and most of these costs will be borne by workers and small and medium-sized businesses.”
In addition, economist Ian Shepherdson believes that if the situation heats up and evolves into a full-scale strike by nearly 150,000 union members of the three major auto companies, U.S. quarterly GDP may be hit by up to 1.7 percentage points.
In addition to the strikes targeting the three major car companies, strikes have also begun to spread to other industries in the United States. On October 4, from the largest private medical institution in the United States,Kaiser Permanente Federation of Labor UnionsMore than 75,000 medical staff went on strike.
Source:X
The strike affected many areas and affected many people, making it the largest health care system strike in U.S. history.
At the same time, the strike also shifted from the Big Three to other car companies. On October 9, 4,000 workers at Mack Trucks, an American industrial vehicle manufacturer owned by the Volvo Group, also decided to go on strike.
To a certain extent, the union-led auto workers’ strike in the United States has already begunSpread to the entire North American automotive industry.
Once the strike cannot be stopped in the next few months, according to the "Capitol Hill" website, it will affect the economic growth of the United States in the third and fourth quarters. At the same time, production capacity reductions caused by strikes may lead toCar prices rise.
It can be said that the longer the strike lasts, the greater the impact will be on the Big Three in the United States. At this time, Tesla has the last laugh.
On the 16th, Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Company and great-grandson of founder Henry Ford, gave a brief speech, saying that Tesla should not let Tesla see our jokes.
“This shouldn’t be Ford vs. the union, Toyota, Tesla and others love this strike because they know the longer it goes on, the better it is for them.They will win and we will all lose. "