Ford has sent home 400 more workers on layoff at its Livonia and Sterling Heights facilities because of the cascading effects of the UAW strike, now in its third week.
Ford gave the UAW a new offer on Tuesday, and talks are ongoing, but no deal yet.
Workers walking the picket line at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, hopeful about the new offer, think they will be here awhile.
“We’ve never been in this situation before, so we don’t really know what tomorrow is going to bring,” said Sue Murphy, a 27-year Ford veteran.
Meanwhile, General Motors has secured a $6 billion line of credit. CFO Paul Jacobson told CNBC the rationale.
“It’s just prudent in light of some of the messages we’ve seen from the UAW leadership that they intend to drag this on for months, and we need to continue to fund the transformation and really position GM for the future for all of our people,” Jacobson said.
UAW Chief Shawn Fain is set to address the membership by the end of the week, where we’ll likely find out if more strike targets are being added to the list.
Related: UAW strike week 3: What we know as 25K workers picket, Big Three talks persist
Days after laying off 330 employees at Ford Motor Company’s Chicago Stamping and Lima Engine plants, the automaker announced it was laying off 400 more workers at its Livonia Transmission and Sterling Axle plants.
Related: UAW strike week 3: What we know as 25K workers picket, Big Three talks persist
The automaker announced the temporary layoffs Wednesday, Oct. 4 as the UAW’s strike against Detroit’s Big Three automakers continues its third week.
Ford said 350 workers at the Livonia Transmission Plant and 50 workers at the Sterling Axle Plant have been asked to not report to work Thursday.
Ford credits the strike for the layoffs, which they said is not a lockout. The automaker had previously said its production system is interconnected and the strike is impacting facilities and departments that aren’t the ones directly targeted.
The 400 laid-off workers now join the 930 laid off over the last two weeks, bringing Ford’s total to 1,330 employees impacted.