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Ford announced on Monday that it has temporarily laid off over 300 additional workers, attributing the move to the ‘knock-on effects’ stemming from the ongoing strike involving the ‘Big Three’ car manufacturers – Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors. The strike commenced on September 15 after the previous contract expired without a replacement.
Instead of calling for a simultaneous strike by all of its 146,000 members, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has adopted a targeted approach, progressively adding more sites as the strike continues. As of now, approximately 25,000 members have been called to halt work.
Ford stated in a Monday press release, ‘Our production system is highly interconnected, which means the UAW’s targeted strike strategy has repercussions for facilities that are not directly designated for a work stoppage.’ The statement added that about 330 employees have been instructed not to report to work, bringing the total number of ‘strike-related layoffs’ at Ford to 930.
Ford specified that the sites affected by Monday’s announcement were located in Chicago, Illinois, and Lima, Ohio.
Initially, the UAW had called upon approximately 13,000 members at the three automakers to cease work. Later, another 5,600 members were included a week later due to a lack of progress in negotiations. In the following week, an additional 7,000 members were added, resulting in a total of around 25,000 workers participating in the strike.
