Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "2023 United Auto Workers strike" in English language version.
But the talks are about more than pay. Workers are trying to defend jobs as manufacturing shifts from internal combustion engines to batteries. Because they have fewer parts, electric cars can be made with fewer workers than gasoline vehicles. ... Under pressure from government officials and changing consumer demand, Ford, G.M. and Stellantis are investing billions to retool their sprawling operations to build electric vehicles, which are critical to addressing climate change. But they are making little if any profit on those vehicles while Tesla, which dominates electric car sales, is profitable and growing fast.
President Biden grabbed a bullhorn and joined striking autoworkers in Michigan on Tuesday, becoming the first sitting president to join a picket line in an extraordinary show of support for workers demanding better wages.
Yes, profits at the Detroit Three are at record levels – $37 billion last year. But the auto industry usually operates at thin margins, and even though labor costs are a relatively small fraction of the companies' overall expenses, those profits can evaporate quickly. Financial markets are acutely aware of the large-scale challenges facing the Detroit companies. General Motors' stock price has been essentially flat since the company went public nearly 13 years ago, while the overall equity market has appreciated by 276 percent.
The stoppage threatens to destabilize an industry that makes up about 3 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.
Economists are weighing the fallout from a potential labor disruption at GM, Ford and Stellantis, which combined produce about half of the roughly 15 million vehicles made in the U.S. annually.
The stoppage threatens to destabilize an industry that makes up about 3 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.
But the talks are about more than pay. Workers are trying to defend jobs as manufacturing shifts from internal combustion engines to batteries. Because they have fewer parts, electric cars can be made with fewer workers than gasoline vehicles. ... Under pressure from government officials and changing consumer demand, Ford, G.M. and Stellantis are investing billions to retool their sprawling operations to build electric vehicles, which are critical to addressing climate change. But they are making little if any profit on those vehicles while Tesla, which dominates electric car sales, is profitable and growing fast.
President Biden grabbed a bullhorn and joined striking autoworkers in Michigan on Tuesday, becoming the first sitting president to join a picket line in an extraordinary show of support for workers demanding better wages.
Yes, profits at the Detroit Three are at record levels – $37 billion last year. But the auto industry usually operates at thin margins, and even though labor costs are a relatively small fraction of the companies' overall expenses, those profits can evaporate quickly. Financial markets are acutely aware of the large-scale challenges facing the Detroit companies. General Motors' stock price has been essentially flat since the company went public nearly 13 years ago, while the overall equity market has appreciated by 276 percent.
But the talks are about more than pay. Workers are trying to defend jobs as manufacturing shifts from internal combustion engines to batteries. Because they have fewer parts, electric cars can be made with fewer workers than gasoline vehicles. ... Under pressure from government officials and changing consumer demand, Ford, G.M. and Stellantis are investing billions to retool their sprawling operations to build electric vehicles, which are critical to addressing climate change. But they are making little if any profit on those vehicles while Tesla, which dominates electric car sales, is profitable and growing fast.
Economists are weighing the fallout from a potential labor disruption at GM, Ford and Stellantis, which combined produce about half of the roughly 15 million vehicles made in the U.S. annually.
