Ford Layoff: US Automaker Lays Off 150 More Workers Citing UAW Strike

Ford Motor said on Wednesday that it has decided to lay off another 150 workers in Michigan due to the ongoing United Auto Workers strike, taking the total number of retrenched workers to 2,730, according to a Reuters report.

According to the report Ford held the UAW's walkout last week at its Kentucky Truck Plant led to the new layoffs at a Michigan axle plant. Meanwhile, another 16,600 Ford employees are on strike at three assembly plants, including Kentucky Truck, the company's largest plant.

The targeted strike against the Detroit Three automakers Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis began on September 15.

Earlier on Monday, Ford announced an additional 500 layoffs spread across five component plants because of UAW's expansion of the strike at its largest factory, the Kentucky Truck Plant, last Wednesday.

On Thursday, company executives reportedly expressed the probability that there could be a total of 4,600 layoffs at its various plants due to the expansion of the strike to Kentucky Truck.

As per media reports some of the demands of the Union on strike include higher wages, the abolishment of a two-tier wage system, and the expansion of unions to battery plants at all three companies.

UAW President Shawn Fain recently said that while Ford has recovered well since the Great Recession, its workers have witnessed only modest pay increases, which were outweighed by rising prices.

Last month, approximately 13,000 auto workers walked off the job at three targeted factories after their union leaders failed to reach a deal with Detroit's automakers.

The United Auto Workers union is seeking wage hikes and better benefits from General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis.

Nevertheless, on Wednesday Ford Motor said that a proposal by President Joe Biden's administration to raise vehicle fuel economy standards through 2032 threatens to cause "substantial economic hardship" for the No. 2 US automaker.