The labor unrest that has plagued automakers for the past months has brought bad news for Ford. Ford’s CEO said that the latest offer by the United Automobile Workers union would lead the company to bankruptcy.
Ford workers go on strike, production stops at the factories
Contract negotiations between Ford Motor and the United Auto Workers union have completely stalled. The failure of both sides to reach an agreement led tens of thousands of workers to go on strike in the United States. Initial estimates indicated that 50,000 workers at three major plants were on strike.
Speaking about the contract, Ford CEO Jim Farley said that Ford would go bankrupt if they accepted the deal. “The United Automobile Workers’ current offer would force the company into bankruptcy. Everyone thinks we’re in a secret room doing the final negotiations, and that’s what we want, but nothing is happening,” Farley said.
For those who don’t know, union and company negotiators have been negotiating a new four-year contract for over two months. The key issue for both sides has been workers’ wages. While the union is demanding significant wage increases for workers, Ford is refusing to accept them.
Ford CEO Farley said the union wants to raise the average worker’s salary to $300,000 a year. But he argued that this was more than other professions such as teaching and firefighting. UAW President Sean Fein said the cost of living was putting financial strain on workers.
Farley said the union’s demands would be too costly and could drive the company into bankruptcy. Ford is the only major automaker in US history not to have gone bankrupt. But there is still no middle ground between workers and managers.
{{user}} {{datetime}}
{{text}}