Posts tagged EV
German Union Backs UAW Organizing Effort at VW Chattanooga
December 23, 2023 // IG Metall, which participated in the UAW’s failed organizing drives at Chattanooga in 2014 and 2019, also has a stake in the UAW’s new fight in Tennessee. IG Metall, Germany’s largest labor union, represents 125,000 VW workers.
Tesla to Raise Wages at Nevada Gigafactory Amid Pressure to Unionize
December 21, 2023 // During the UAW's strike against the Big Three, analysts noted that Tesla could stand to gain as lost revenue from the strike and higher labor costs under new contracts could make it more difficult for traditional automakers to make the EV transition. Tesla is not the only automaker to raise wages following the UAW strike resolution, as Hyundai and others have taken steps to raise worker pay as well. 2 The electric vehicle maker also faces growing pressure from organized labor activity in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway over its refusal to enter into collective agreements with labor unions.
Stellantis announces layoffs at Toledo Jeep plant
December 11, 2023 // As part of the new contract, the use of so-called temporary workers will change. At the Toledo plant, Stellantis said in the Thursday announcement that it will transition from an "alternative work schedule" to a traditional two-shift operation. This will lead to the loss of jobs, according to the company. According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice from Stellantis, 1,094 of the layoffs are supplemental employees and the remaining 131 are production operators/team members. Also affected is the Mack Assembly Complex in Detroit, which will transition from a three-shift operation to a two-shift operation. Layoffs also are expected there, according to Stellantis.
Commentary: The UAW’s Strike Win on Plant Closures Is Too Rigid
December 2, 2023 // The transition to battery-electric vehicles is difficult enough without the addition of the UAW’s capacity alignment restrictions. Pricing and profit uncertainty within the sector is daunting, dealers seem reluctant to go all-in on the vision and the required infrastructure to ease consumer’s range anxiety will take multiple years to develop. Additionally, proposed CO2 and emission standards could add additional costs if manufacturers do not sell enough zero-emission vehicles. Manufacturers will need flexibility when transitioning from ICE-dedicated plants to dedicated BEV capacity. Rationalization is mandatory given the potential price pressure that will come from excess capacity in North America. The production volume for total light vehicles is a fixed amount. Supply does not create demand. Thus, the more manufacturers implement product and marketing strategies to fill BEV capacity, the more they will be forced to reduce ICE capacity.
Ford workers join those at GM in approving contract settlement that ended UAW strikes
November 20, 2023 // The United Auto Workers union overwhelmingly ratified a new contract with Ford, a pact that, along with similar deals with General Motors and Stellantis, will raise pay across the industry, force automakers to absorb higher costs and help reshape the auto business as it shifts away from gasoline-fueled vehicles. Workers at Ford voted 69.3% in favor of the pact, which passed with nearly a 15,000-vote margin in balloting that ended early Saturday. Earlier this week, GM workers narrowly approved a similar contract. At Stellantis, 68.7% of workers favored ratification, an insurmountable lead with votes at only two small facilities left to be counted.
Tesla allowed to ban factory workers from wearing union T-shirts: court
November 17, 2023 // On Tuesday, the 5th Circuit said that it was wrong for the NLRB to require Tesla to prove that special circumstances justified its policy. The company still allowed workers “to affix any number or size of union stickers to their team wear,” so it was not unlawfully interfering with union organizing, the court said.
‘Battle royale’: Tesla and anti-union Musk make enticing targets for UAW’s next push
November 5, 2023 // Some current UAW members are already fired up to take on Tesla. “Go out west to California? Absolutely, I would go,” said John Jake Kincaid, a Stellantis employee in Michigan. “Show them our strength.” Still, fighting for a contract at companies with established relationships with union workers is a far different effort than starting from scratch. Several workers who were key to Tesla’s earlier union effort are no longer at the company. The Fremont plant’s history with the UAW predates the electric vehicle maker. For about 25 years, Toyota and GM operated the facility together in an unusual joint venture. It was a union shop. In 2009, GM pulled out of the partnership as part of its bankruptcy proceedings and in 2010 Toyota shut the operation down, throwing 4,700 people out of work. A month later, Tesla bought the sprawling 5.3 million square foot factory; the union didn’t come with the purchase.
Bad vibes are sending shudders through Tesla, GM and Ford
October 30, 2023 // EV-specific factors include higher average costs than gas-powered models and many consumers lack of familiarity with the tech. "I see EV sales plateauing and even falling over the next 6 months," Brauer predicts. Threat level: "Investors have been too optimistic about EV demand growth . . . slowing demand growth is coming sooner than expected, especially in the high-end EV market," said Lee Hang-koo of Korea Automotive Technology Institute tells the Financial Times.
GM reaches tentative deal with UAW, ending strikes at Detroit automakers after six weeks
October 30, 2023 // It’s not immediately clear how much the labor deals will increase labor costs for the companies, which had argued that giving in to all of the union’s demands would affect their competitiveness and even long-term viability. Deutsche Bank recently estimated the overall cost increase of the agreement at Ford to be $6.2 billion over the term of the agreement; $7.2 billion at GM; and $6.4 billion at Stellantis.
UAW and Stellantis reach tentative contract deal as union adds strike at Tennessee GM factory
October 29, 2023 // Under the deal, the union said it saved jobs in Belvidere as well at an engine plant in Trenton, Michigan, and a machining factory in Toledo, Ohio. “We’ve done the impossible. We have moved mountains. We have reopened an assembly plant that was closed,” Fain said. The deal includes a commitment by Stellantis to build a new midsize truck at its factory in Belvidere, Illinois, that was slated to be closed. About 1,200 workers will be hired back, plus another 1,000 workers will be added for a new electric vehicle battery plant, the union said. “We're bringing back both combustion vehicles and electric vehicle jobs to Belvidere,” Fain said.