Tag: Stellantis

Electric Vehicle Maker Launches Another Round of Layoffs as Demand Slows

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Rivian factory

Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Rivian announced its second round of layoffs just this year on Wednesday as consumer demand for EVs stalls.

The layoffs at Rivian will affect around 1 percent of the company’s staff as they continue to look for ways to cut costs to bolster struggling profits due to less-than-expected EV sales, the company confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Rivian announced in February that it was laying off 10 percent of its workforce after it released its 2024 production forecast, which was well below analyst expectations, according to Reuters.

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United Auto Workers’ Push for Unionization in Tennessee Sets Up Industry Disruption, Expert Says

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Volkswagen Plant Chattanooga

After recent wins, the United Auto Workers (UAW) looks poised to take on the non-unionized automakers and, if successful, could disrupt the whole industry.

The UAW recently filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a vote at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which employs around 4,000 autoworkers, as it looks to expand its reach to other automakers. A successful union vote in Chattanooga could be a key stepping stone in the UAW’s effort to break into the currently non-unionized auto plants, especially in the south, which has historically been less receptive to unions, all the while the UAW is being emboldened by labor-friendly regulators from the Biden administration, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Electric Vehicle Parts Maker Gets Tax Break to Open New Plant in Ohio

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Electric Car

Ohio plans to give a 15-year tax credit to a company planning a new manufacturing facility to build parts for electric vehicles.

Schaeffler, owner of two plants in the state, plans a third in Dover that is expected to employ 650 people after a $230 million investment. The tax credits are tied to job creation.

The new jobs are expected to be split between the company’s plant in Wooster and the new Dover plant. The company employs more than 1,600 people.

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Major Automaker Says Union Deal Will Add Nearly a Thousand Dollars to Car Costs

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Ford Motor Co. announced on Thursday that labor costs following a recent major union deal will cost the company around $900 per vehicle by 2028.

Ford, along with other major U.S. automakers General Motors and Stellantis, faced a six-week-long strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) starting in September, with all three companies recently voting to approve new contracts through 2028. The company expects the new labor agreement to cost an extra $8.8 billion over the course of the contract due to wage increases of around 25%, accelerated wage progression and cost-of-living adjustments as stipulated in the contract, according to a press release from the company.

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Commentary: The Existential Crisis of the Big Three Automakers

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The “Big Three” — Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis — have had a tough go of things lately. The recently concluded strikes by their employees were perhaps the most visible indication that all is not roses in U.S. Autoland, but there is a larger problem. That problem is summarized by the following headline from the Wall Street Journal: “Automakers Have Big Hopes for EVs; Buyers Aren’t Cooperating.”

The financial results of weak EV sales have been devastating for the Big Three. Ford reported a third-quarter operating loss of $1.3 billion in its EV division. Since it sold 20,962 EVs in the third quarter, the per-unit loss on each of those vehicles is an eye-popping $62,016. Ouch!

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‘Very Precarious’: Automakers May Have Missed the Mark with Union Deal, Experts Say

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The United Auto Workers (UAW) concluded contract negotiations with the Big Three automakers over the last week, creating a deal that raises labor costs when the automakers are already struggling against competitors, according to experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — reached three separate tentative deals starting on Wednesday that ended a six-week-long partial strike at the companies from the UAW after workers’ contracts expired on Sept. 14. Due to the increased labor costs from higher wages and benefits, the Big Three are put at a disadvantage compared to non-unionized workforces both domestically and abroad at a time when the companies try to shift to the production of electric vehicles (EV), according to experts who spoke to the DCNF.

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UAW Expands Strike Against GM Hours After Reaching Deal with Rival Stellantis and Ford

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The United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Saturday expanded its strike against General Motors (GM) after it reached an agreement with its competitors on Wednesday and Saturday, the union confirmed in an X post.

The UAW and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) reached a deal similar to the four-year agreement reached on Wednesday between Ford and the UAW, which provides a 25 percent pay increase and cost of living adjustments, as well as the ability to strike over plant closures. It was expected that GM would also make a deal with the union after Stellantis on Saturday, but instead employees at a Tennessee GM factory received orders to expand the company’s strike, the local union posted on X.

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Report: Ford, United Auto Workers Reach Tentative Deal to End Strike

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The United Auto Workers union and Ford Motor Company have reached a tentative deal to end the ongoing strike, pending approval from union leaders.

The ongoing strike has thus far lasted nearly six weeks. Exact terms of the agreement remain unclear, though the final deal could be announced as early as Wednesday evening, CNBC reported, citing sources familiar with the talks.

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More Americans Back UAW Strikers than Automakers: Poll

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More Americans support the United Auto Workers (UAW) over the major auto companies as their strike for higher wages and more benefits nears its fifth week, according to the Associated Press.

The UAW is currently engaging in a partial strike against the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — and have expanded to 44 different plants across the country since its Sept. 15 start, most recently resulting in workers at Ford’s biggest and most profitable plant walking out of the job on Wednesday. Around 36% of Americans sympathize with the striking UAW workers, while only 9% support the automakers in the dispute, with the rest of the 53% of Americans not swayed either way, according to a recent poll from the AP’s NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

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Electric Vehicles Are Costing Auto Manufacturers Billions While Union Strikes Take Their Toll

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by Nick Pope   Electric vehicle (EV) production is costing most American automobile manufacturers billions of dollars, with a range of factors driving their unprofitability as unionized auto workers are striking to demand more from management. Companies like Rivian, Ford and General Motors (GM) are currently losing money on each EV that they sell, while Stellantis appears likely to lose money up front on their EVs when they bring them to market in 2024, according to numerous reports. Rivian has struggled immensely, according to The Wall Street Journal, and the “Big Three” carmakers are facing down the ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) strike, with the union making demands that threaten to push costs even higher. The UAW is seeking to exact major concessions, with EVs featuring as a key driver of the labor dispute. Prior to the strike, the average UAW worker in Grass Lake, Michigan, made about $45,000 per year, according to data from ZipRecruiter. The UAW is seeking a 36 percent pay bump over the course of a four-year contract, yearly cost-of-living adjustments, restoration of pre-bailout pension benefits for all of its employees, increased protections to ensure job security, limits on the use of temporary workers and a 32-hour work week, according to CBS…

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UAW Strike Costs Billions in Losses with No End in Sight

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The United Auto Workers (UAW) strike has caused billions in economic damage and could further harm supply chains and local economies as the union and automakers fail to reach a deal.

The UAW has been undergoing a partial strike against the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — which most recently expanded to a total of 43 locations after negotiations failed to reach a contract by the Sept. 14 deadline, already causing $3.95 billion in economic losses as of Tuesday, according to the Anderson Economic Group. The strike could be devastating to the Big Three’s market position, and stoppages could have greater effects downstream as supply chains are unable to move and local economies suffer, according to experts who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Auto Union Threatens Even More Strikes If a Deal Isn’t Reached by End of Week

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More auto workers are set to go on strike against top auto manufacturers if a deal is not met by Friday at noon, according to an announcement from the union Monday night.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) are currently engaging in a targeted strike at just three plants in negotiations with the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — avoiding a total strike of all 146,000 unionized workers after the parties failed to reach a deal for new contracts on Sept. 14. Shawn Fain, president of the UAW, announced that more members at different plants would join the strike if the union and automakers did not make serious progress on new contracts by Friday at noon, according to a video posted by the union.

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Michigan Auto Worker: Want to Be Able to Afford the Vehicles We Build

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United Auto Workers striking along Michigan Avenue outside the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne since midnight want to be able to afford the vehicles they assemble.

The UAW went on strike against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors at select factories around midnight. Brandon Bell, who’s worked at the Ford plant for three years, said workers need boosted pay and benefits. 

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Autoworkers Strike Imperils ‘Union Joe’ Biden’s 2024 Election Prospects

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President Joe Biden may face headwinds in his 2024 reelection bid following his inability to prevent workers at the three biggest American auto manufacturers from striking, according to Politico.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) announced a strike Thursday night against the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — saying that members would not be showing up to three plants on Friday, but stopping short of calling for all 146,000 unionized autoworkers to cease operations. Some have begun to place blame on the president for failing to help in negotiations, souring the president’s desired image of being “the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen,” according to Politico.

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United Auto Workers Plans Strikes at Detroit Big Three Vehicle Manufacturers

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The United Automobile Workers union is preparing to strike at Detroit’s Big Three vehicle manufacturers as contract negotiations remain strained ahead of the deadline just before midnight Thursday.

Union President Shawn Fain said Wednesday that General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, formerly known as Chrysler, increased initial wage offers while rejecting some other demands, The Associated Press reported.

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Big Three Automakers Reinstate Mask Mandates for All Workers

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America’s largest automobile manufacturers, along with United Auto Workers (UAW), will require all employees to wear masks again starting Wednesday.

The decision was made by a COVID-19 task force comprised of health officials from UAW, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which manufactures Dodge and Chrysler vehicles. All workers, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, have to wear masks at plants, office buildings, and warehouses, UAW announced in a statement Tuesday.

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