Street Calls of the Week
The stocks of auto industry leaders Ford (NYSE:F) and General Motors (NYSE:GM) saw a slight uptick on Monday after the United Auto Workers (UAW) union resumed negotiations over the weekend. These discussions were initiated following strikes staged by the UAW at three major car manufacturing facilities earlier on Friday. The talks have been characterized as "reasonably productive."
Despite the marginal increase in the stock value of Ford and General Motors, shares of Stellantis (NYSE:STLA), another major player in the auto industry, dropped by 0.8% before the market opened on Monday. The strikes commenced at General Motors' Wentzville Assembly in Missouri, Stellantis' Jeep assembly complex in Toledo, Ohio, and specific departments at Ford's assembly plant near Detroit.
Over the weekend, UAW President Shawn Fain publicly dismissed a 21% pay rise proposal from Stellantis. Fain labeled the offer from the Jeep manufacturer as "definitely a no go," indicating that the union is not willing to settle for terms it deems unfavorable.
In reaction to the strikes, both Ford and General Motors have implemented temporary layoffs. Approximately 600 non-striking workers at Ford's Michigan plant have been temporarily laid off. Similarly, General Motors has projected that around 2,000 employees at its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas could be out of work this week until production resumes.
Fain has suggested these layoffs are a strategy to pressure union members into accepting less favorable terms. However, he expressed confidence on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that such tactics employed by the car makers would not succeed.
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