Ford temporarily lays off 330 workers, blames the UAW strike

Ford temporarily laid off 330 workers in the wake of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike, which grew to include the firm’s Chicago plant on September 29, 2023. The layoffs affect workers in Illinois and Ohio.

Citing a company spokesperson, the Detroit Free Press wrote that the layoffs started on Saturday, September 30, at the Chicago Stamping Plant and on Monday, October 2, at the Lima Engine Plant in Ohio. Neither factory is part of the strike, which targets specific plants, but the movement creates a domino effect across the production network as facilities depend on each other to build a vehicle from start to finish.

“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,” Ford spokesman Dan Barbossa told the Detroit Free Press. “These are not lockouts,” he stressed.

The 139-acre Chicago Stamping Plant employs 1,290 workers and produces metal components that get shipped to other factories across the production network. The 312-acre Lima Engine Plant employs 1,530 workers and builds V6 engines, including the 2.7- and 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6s found in several popular vehicles including the F-150 and the Bronco.

Ford’s latest layoffs — which are indefinite but not permanent — bring the total number of non-striking employees affected by the movement to 930. It temporarily laid off 600 workers at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, on September 15, 2023, for similar reasons.

General Motors, which is also affected by strikes targeting specific plants, announced layoffs as well. It furloughed 130 workers at the Parma Metal Center in Ohio and 34 workers at its Marion Metal Center in Indiana, according to CNBC. Both plants build sheet metal parts used by other factories. General Motors has also idled its Fairfax Assembly & Stamping plant in Kansas City, Missouri, resulting in 2,000 layoffs.