Ford Motor Co. (F) and General Motors Co. (GM) cut jobs again as the ripple effects of the ongoing strike by the United Auto Workers union became apparent, The two companies' combined job cuts are 500.
Ford said late on Monday it had halted work at two of its plants that supply parts for a Chicago SUV assembly plant where workers began a strike on Friday. About 330 employees were laid off as a result of work stoppage at a stamping plant near the SUV plant and an engine plant in Lima, Ohio, the company said.
Earlier on Monday, GM said it was cutting 130 jobs at a plant near Cleveland and 34 at a plant in central Indiana. The two plants make metal parts used in GM's assembly plants, all of which have been idled by the strike.
About 25,000 UAW members are now on strike at plants owned by GM, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis (STLA). The UAW called these strikes after failing to reach an agreement on a new four-year contract by a Sept. 14 deadline. As a pressure tactic, the union has gradually increased the scale of the strike.
After GM and Ford disclosed the cuts on Monday, more than 6,000 factory workers have lost their jobs due to the spillover effects of the strike. That figure includes several suppliers who say some of their workers have been put on unpaid leave as a direct result of the strike.
Talks have continued since Friday, when the UAW extended the strike to Ford Motor Co. 's Chicago plant and GM's SUV plant in Lansing, Michigan. Ford's Chicago plant makes the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs, while GM's SUV plant in Lansing, Mich., makes the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave.