Ford temporarily lays off 300 additional US workers amid ongoing auto industry strike

Ford has announced the temporary layoff of more than 300 employees in the United States, attributing the move to the cascading effects of the ongoing strike involving the nation’s “Big Three” car manufacturers—Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors.

The strike commenced on September 15 following the expiration of a previous contract, leaving the automotive giants grappling with labor unrest.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union, instead of orchestrating a simultaneous strike of its entire 146,000-member workforce, has adopted a targeted approach, progressively expanding the strike’s reach as the standoff persists. To date, approximately 25,000 union members have been called upon to halt their work.

Explaining the situation, Ford released a statement on Monday, emphasizing the interconnectivity of its production system, which has resulted in the UAW’s targeted strike strategy causing collateral disruptions in facilities not directly designated for work stoppages. Consequently, Ford has had to instruct around 330 employees to refrain from reporting to work, bringing the total count of “strike-related layoffs” at the company to 930.

Ford’s statement identified the affected locations as being in Chicago, Illinois, and Lima, Ohio. Concurrently, Stellantis and General Motors have also implemented staff reductions at various sites due to similar ripple effects from the ongoing strike.

Initially, the UAW called upon approximately 13,000 members across the three major automakers to participate in the strike. Subsequently, another 5,600 workers were added a week later due to insufficient progress in negotiations. In the following week, an additional 7,000 employees were enlisted, bringing the cumulative total of striking workers to approximately 25,000.