Ford lay off 500 more workers, blaming strike
General Motors and Ford are laying off 500 additional workers between them, blaming the expansion of the strike announced by the United Auto Workers union at those companies on Friday.
164 workers at General Motors’ stamping plants in Parma, Ohio, and Marion, Indiana, were laid off. Normally, these plants send their stamped metal parts to the assembly lines that have been shut down by the strike – the plants in Wentzville, Ohio, and Lansing Delta Assembly. These plants manufacture Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, as well as Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave pickups.
GM assembly lines continue to operate, so most Parma and Marion workers will remain on the job, producing stamping for other plants.
“We have said repeatedly that nobody wins in a strike, and this is yet another example,” said GM. In good faith, we will continue to negotiate with the union in order to reach an agreement as soon as possible.
Previously, the company had laid off more than 1,800 workers at its Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas City, its Toledo engine plant, and its Lockport components factory in New York. In total, nearly 2,000 employees have been laid off across five plants.
After the union voted Friday to strike Ford’s Chicago Assembly plant, which makes the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs, Ford said it laid off 330 workers at its Chicago Stamping Plant and Lima Engine Plant.
The UAW’s targeted strike strategy impacts facilities that are not directly targeted for a work stoppage because our production system is highly interconnected, Ford stated. At the Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan, which was not on strike, 600 hourly workers were laid off.