The GM logo appears on the facade of General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, US, on March 16, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo Obtaining licensing rights
Oct 27 (Reuters) – Talks between General Motors and the United Auto Workers resumed on Friday amid intense negotiations to try to reach a labor contract agreement to end the six-week strike. Discussions with Chrysler’s parent company Stellantis (STLAM.MI) are scheduled to resume soon.
Ford Motor (FN) on Wednesday was the first of Detroit’s Big Three automakers to negotiate an agreement to settle strikes that 45,000 Detroit Three auto workers have joined since mid-September. The deal will likely set a pattern for new contracts with GM and Stellantis.
The talks with GM and Stellantis, which began on Thursday, extended into the early hours of Friday before being postponed. GM resumed talks at 11 a.m. EDT on Friday and Stellantis is expected to resume talks at 1 p.m. Both companies hope to reach agreements soon, the sources said.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra and UAW President Sean Fine participated in Thursday’s talks. GM, Stellantis and the UAW are very close on economic provisions, but some final issues including the use of temporary workers are still under discussion, the sources said.
GM shares were down 2.6% at $27.82 at midday, after hitting a low of $27.32, the weakest intraday price since August 2020. Stellantis shares were down 1.3% at $18.24 in New York.
Ford’s agreement, which still must be ratified by union members, includes a 25% wage increase over the contract’s four-and-a-half-year term, increased retirement contributions, and the elimination of low pay levels for corporate workers. Certain parts operations at Ford.
It also reduces the time needed to earn top pay to three years instead of eight, and the UAW wins the right to strike over plant closures.
The deal amounts to total pay increases of more than 33% when aggravation mechanisms and cost of living are taken into account, the UAW said.
The strike cost the automaker $1.3 billion in profits and 80,000 vehicles, John Lawler, Ford’s chief financial officer, said Thursday.
Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington, Editing by Chizuo Nomiyama and Matthew Lewis
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