Members of the United Auto Workers are on strike outside the Stellantis NV Toledo Assembly Complex in Toledo, Ohio, on Sept. 18, 2023.
Emily Elconin | Bloomberg | Getty Images
General Motors and Stellantis have announced additional layoffs as a result of the United Auto Workers strike.
GM stated on Wednesday that it has ceased production at its assembly plant in Fairfax, Kansas, due to a “shortage of critical stampings” normally supplied by its Wentzville, Missouri factory, where workers went on strike last week. Approximately 2,000 workers are affected.
Earlier on Wednesday, Stellantis revealed it is laying off around 370 employees at three parts factories in Ohio and Indiana immediately due to “storage constraints” related to the strike. These plants produce parts for Jeep vehicles manufactured at the automaker’s Toledo Assembly Complex, where workers are also on strike.
Workers represented by the UAW went on strike at the Wentzville and Toledo assembly plants, as well as a Ford Motor factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit, on Sep. 15, after the three automakers failed to negotiate a new contract with the union.
The GM Fairfax Assembly plant manufactures the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and Cadillac XT4 crossover. GM stated that the 2,000 workers laid off from the Fairfax plant will not be eligible for the supplemental unemployment benefits normally provided to laid-off employees.
“We have repeatedly stated that nobody wins in a strike,” GM said in a statement. “The situation with our Fairfax team members is a clear and immediate demonstration of that fact. We will continue to negotiate in good faith with the union to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.”
Nearly 13,000 GM, Ford, and Stellantis workers are currently on strike at the Wentzville, Toledo, and Wayne plants. UAW President Shawn Fain announced that the union will announce more strikes on Friday if there is no “serious progress” in negotiations.
