Here's What It Took To End The Autoworkers Strikes
Good morning! It’s Monday, October 30, 2023, and this is The Morning Shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
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1st Gear: UAW Reaches Agreements With Stellantis And GM
After reaching a tentative agreement with Ford last week, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union agreed deals with Stellantis and GM following more than 40 days of strike action. Members walked off the job last month before a tentative agreement was reached by Stellantis on Saturday and GM earlier this morning.
Stellantis and the UAW reached a tentative agreement this weekend after members first walked off the job way back on September 15th. The deal secures 25 percent raises for union members and includes nearly $19 billion in investment in U.S. manufacturing, according to Automotive News.
Now that a deal has been reached, 14,000 striking workers will return to Stellantis’ plants across the U.S. before the contract goes to a vote on Thursday. Automotive News reports:
“Once again, we have achieved what just weeks ago we were told was impossible,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement Saturday. “At Stellantis in particular, we have not only secured a record contract, we have begun to turn the tide in the war on the American working class.”
There was more good news for union workers this morning, as GM announced it had reached a deal with the union as well. The Detroit Free Press reports that while details of the deal have not yet been published, sources “with knowledge of the negotiations” said that GM had pledged to match Ford’s offer, which included 25 percent wage increase across the life of the contract, profit-sharing guarantees and cost-of-living adjustments.
The deal came just after the UAW called on members working at the Spring Hill Assembly plant in Tennessee to “stand up” and walk out as it planned to escalate strike action.
2nd Gear: Panasonic Slashes Its EV Battery Targets As Sales Slow
Electric vehicle manufacturers are worrying right now. Ford has cut a shift at the plant building its F-150 Lightning electric truck, GM pushed back its targets for its own EV rollout and even Tesla is getting worried about sales. Now, battery manufacturer Panasonic has weighed in with worries of its own about the future of EV sales around the world.
Panasonic, which supplies most of its batteries to Tesla, slashed its output of automotive batteries by 60 percent in the second quarter and cut its profit forecasts for the year by 15 percent, according to a report from Reuters. The site reports:
The energy unit made battery cells for Tesla’s premium Model S and Model X that during the quarter came with a higher price tag than what would make them eligible for U.S. tax credits, said Panasonic’s Group CFO Hirokazu Umeda.
“Since these are luxury cars that exceed this price, demand has fallen,” Umeda told analysts and reporters during a briefing on the company’s second-quarter financial results.
Panasonic could also face struggles as measures from the Inflation Reduction Act take hold. In that bill, EVs will soon only qualify for tax breaks if more than 40 percent of the materials in their batteries are U.S.-made.
However, while the company has been forced to slash output at its Japanese sites, its production here in the U.S. has so far “remained steady” while struggling demand for high-end EVs has hit its Japan production.
3rd Gear: Italian Workers Strike Over Pivot To EVs
While Japan struggles with demand for EVs, workers in Italy are facing issues of their own with the pivot to electrification. Now, workers at a plant in Italy have gone on strike after its parent company threatened to close the site down as it becomes obsolete in the switch to EVs.
The Marelli site, which assembles internal combustion engine parts for car groups including VW and Stellantis, has been threatened with closure after its owners said the site was “unsustainable” as the EU implements bans on the sale of gas-powered cars. As Reuters explains:
The dispute is an example of the conflicting challenges governments will face as industries and economies shift towards greener energy to meet tough climate goals and bolster energy security.
Up to 70,000 jobs could be lost in Italy alone due to the push towards green transport, auto lobby ANFIA said.
Now, the plant has been put on hold but Reuters reports that owners still hope to “abandon” it. The move would also hit manufacturing across Europe, with more than 150 jobs in France under threat.
4th Gear: Unifor And Stellantis Reach Deal In Canada
And finally, north of the border in Canada a mini strike has come to an end after a seven-hour walkout was launched by the Unifor union. The contract for union members working at Stellantis’ Canadian sites expired at 11:59 pm last night, but the union and Stellantis reached a tentative agreement by 7:40 am this morning.
The deal reached between Unifor and Stellantis affects more than 8,000 workers in Canada, according to the Detroit Free Press. It follows similar wins for Canadian unions at Ford and GM in recent weeks. The Free Press reports:
The union released a few details about the agreement, saying it includes base hourly wage increases of almost 20% for production and 25% for skilled trades workers over the life of the contract, reactivation of cost-of-living allowances in December 2024, improvements to pension plans, two additional paid holidays and bonuses.
Now, union members in Canada will vote to ratify the contract, which union leaders said would “considerably improve the living standards of every Unifor member at Stellantis.”
