UAW strike day 7: GM, Stellantis announce layoffs as negotiations continue

Automakers announce layoffs as UAW strike nears week mark

General Motors and Stellantis both announced layoffs as UAW workers continue to walk the picket line, with more possibly joining them on Friday.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Both General Motors and Stellantis announced layoffs Wednesday as UAW members continue to walk the picket line at three facilities.

GM laid off around 2,000 workers at its Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas, while Stellantis laid off 68 employees at a machining plant in Ohio and will likely lay off an estimated 300 other workers at factories in Indiana.

These layoffs come as the strike nears the one-week mark with more employees potentially joining the picket line.

If there isn't "serious progress" made in negotiations before noon Friday, UAW President Shawn Fain said more workers will be called on to strike.

Right now, employees at Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, and the GM Wentzville Assembly Plant in Missouri are striking. The UAW is holding a stand up strike, meaning that some workers started striking and more could be added if negotiations are not going favorably for the union. This is a strategy to keep automakers guessing, as they don't know which plants will strike next.

Read more strike coverage here.

Fain is expected to announce the next striking facilities at 10 a.m. Friday.

As negotiations continue and that deadline closes in, Stellantis provided its fifth offer to the union Wednesday. The specifics of that offer are not yet known.

The union initially was asking for a 46% pay raise, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, the tier system removed, and restoration of traditional pensions for new hires, among other demands. However, the union said it is now willing to accept a pay raise percentage in the mid-30s.

Counteroffers have been passed back and forth between the Big Three and UAW. All three automakers have offered raises that are around 20%.