Ford Motor Company has recently disclosed that it has temporarily laid off over 300 employees due to the “knock-on effects” resulting from the ongoing strike against the company and two other major US automakers.
The strike, which initially began on September 15 after the expiration of a previous contract without a replacement, is presently targeted at the “Big Three” car manufacturers – Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors. Rather than initiating a simultaneous strike involving all 146,000 members, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has opted for a strategic approach, incrementally expanding work stoppages at various sites as the strike progresses.
Currently, approximately 25,000 UAW members have received calls to cease work as part of the strike.
Ford stated in a recent announcement, “Our production system is highly interconnected, which means the UAW’s targeted strike strategy has knock-on effects for facilities that are not directly targeted for a work stoppage.” The company further elaborated that around 330 employees have been instructed not to report to work, bringing the total number of “strike-related layoffs” at Ford to 930.
Affected by this development, Ford sites in Chicago, Illinois and Lima, Ohio, have experienced the impact of these temporary layoffs. Similarly, Stellantis and General Motors have also implemented staff reductions at various locations for similar reasons.
Originally, the UAW had called for approximately 13,000 members across the three automakers to halt work, and subsequently added an additional 5,600 a week later due to a lack of progress in negotiations. Another 7,000 members were added the following week, bringing the total to an estimated 25,000 workers currently involved in the strike.
