General Motors is planning to let go 164 workers at its stamping plants in India, Ohio and Parma. However, as long as the assembly lines of GM continue to function, most workers at these plants will have enough work and need not fear being laid off.
Ford, on the other hand, has let go about 330 workers at its stamping plant in Chicago and at its Lima engine plant when a strike was announced at its assembling plant in Chicago. Since all the production work at the plants is linked, the strike has had a ripple effect and disrupted work.
Additionally, the strike by automakers has led to losses to the tune of $1.1 billion, due to sales, production and facility costs being affected. The suppliers of these automakers have also incurred losses of about $1.3 billion, whereas dealership and customer losses amount to about $1.2 billion. That means, the ongoing strikes have cost almost $4 billion!
The United Auto Workers (UAW) is demanding 36 per cent pay hike. The strike that began on 15 September has caused a lot of disruption at the Big Three, that is, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
The UAW also demands that the two-tiered wage structure be done away with. As per this structure, the workers in the top tier — those who have joined the company in 2007 or earlier — are paid an average of about $33 an hour. However, those who have joined post 2007 earn far less, as they are put in the lower tier, earning only about $17 per hour.
