The United Auto Workers (UAW) and three of the largest automakers in the country — General Motors, Ford Motors and Stellantis — have yet to reach a labor deal, and the union has threatened expanded strikes should the standoff last past Friday. 

About 12,700 autoworkers are on strike at three car assembly plants in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri, as the union calls for a 40% increase in wages over about four years, among other benefits. The automakers have said they can’t afford that level of pay increases due to electric vehicle investments. 

UAW President Shawn Fain, who has taken a more aggressive approach to negotiations than prior union leaders, said in a statement posted on Facebook that the automakers have offered raises around 20%.

Layoffs at Non-Striking Facilities

All three automakers said the strikes have forced the layoffs of employees due to parts shortages caused by the strikes. 

• Ford: On Sept. 15, about 600 employees at its Michigan Assembly Plant’s body construction department and south sub-assembly area of integrated stamping were laid off due to lack of components from the paint department, which is on strike.
• GM: On Sept. 20, General Motors indefinitely laid off 2,000 workers at its Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas, due to a shortage of critical stampings supplied by the Wentzville operations currently on strike. 
• Stellantis: On Sept. 20, Stellantis temporarily laid off 68 employees at the Toledo Machining Plant in Perrysburg, Ohio, due to storage constraints. Officials said they anticipate similar actions at Kokomo Transmission and Kokomo Casting in Kokomo, Indiana, affecting an estimated 300 employees at these two facilities.

“Let’s be clear: if the Big Three decide to lay people off who aren’t on strike, that’s them trying to put the squeeze on our members to settle for less,” Fain wrote in a Sept. 16 statement. “With their record profits, they don’t have to lay off a single employee. In fact, they could double every autoworker’s pay, not raise car prices, and still rake in billions of dollars.”