UAW strike leads to layoffs at Stellantis

Global automaker Stellantis laid off workers at more plants amid an ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) strike.

The strike at Stellantis' Toledo, Ohio, Jeep pickup truck and SUV plant has led the automaker to temporarily lay off 68 workers at the Toledo Machining Plant in Perrysburg, Ohio, blaming storage constraints, according to a 20 September news release.

The widening scope of closures continues to lower consumption of metal products such as aluminum, copper and steel, and petrochemicals that go into vehicle parts.

The plant provides parts for 11 of the company's assembly and transmission plants, with Toledo among them. The remaining production at the facility continues to operate.

Stellantis added that its Kokomo transmission and casting plants in Kokomo, Indiana, may also have to idle, which would lead to the layoff of another 300 employees at the two facilities. The transmission plant provides parts for multiple pickup truck, sedan, and SUV products such as Jeep and Ram 1500.

The casting plant is described by Stellantis as "the world's largest die-cast facility" and provides aluminum parts for automotive components, transmission and transaxle cases, and engine block castings.

The additional layoffs by Stellantis came the same day that General Motors (GM) announced it had idled its Fairfax, Kansas, sedan and SUV plant and laid off 2,000 employees as it faced stamped parts shortages related to the strike at the company's Wentzville, Missouri, plant.

Integrated steelmaker US Steel announced on 18 September that it would idle its remaining 1.4mn short tons (st)/yr blast furnace at its Granite City, Illinois, steel mill, saying the strike drove the furnace's idling.

The UAW began striking Ford, GM and Stellantis on 15 September, shuttering Ford's Wayne, Michigan, midsized pickup truck and SUV plant and leading to another 600 layoffs at the facility on 17 September. GM's Wentzville midsize pickup truck and van plant and Stellantis' Toledo truck and SUV plant were also targeted by the UAW with strikes.

By Rye Druzin

UAW struck auto plants and associated idlings