How UAW's Missouri Plant Walkout Could Shut Down GM's Kansas Assembly Line

The United Auto Workers or UAW‘s strike at a Missouri plant has raised concerns about the imminent shutdown of General Motors Corp.‘s GM Kansas assembly plant due to parts shortages.

What Happened: On Friday, UAW initiated a concurrent strike against Detroit’s big three automakers — General Motors Corp. Ford Motor Co. F and Stellantis NV STLA — due to their inability to reach a consensus on wage increases and other benefits, and it has triggered a reported supply chain crisis with far-reaching consequences. 

The strike at GM’s Wentzville, Missouri, plant has caused a ripple effect throughout the automotive manufacturer’s supply chain as "GM’s Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas and its 2,000 team members expected to be idled as soon as early next week," the company said in a statement. 

The plant is a critical supplier of stampings to the Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas, which produces vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac XT4. 

See Also: Tesla’s Elon Musk Predicts Demise Of Volkswagen, GM If They Don’t Switch To Autonomous EVs Pronto

After the walkout, GM issued a statement, saying, “Due to the strike’s impact on Wentzville operations, we anticipate running out of parts for Fairfax as soon as early next week. The parts situation is fluid, and we are actively managing the situation,” reported Reuters.

“Since Fairfax won’t be able to run production due to a part shortage caused by the strike in Wentzville, there is no work available,” the company added. 

Why It’s Important: The UAW strike, initiated due to disputes over issues such as wages and job security, has already begun to disrupt production schedules. 

Workers on strike in Wentzville are demanding better pay, job security, and investments in the facility for future electric vehicle production.

Apart from General Motors’ Missouri assembly plant, Ford Motor Co’s Michigan assembly plant and Stellantis NV’s Stellantis Ohio assembly plant were hit by this simultaneous walkout. 

Previously, the Ford Motor Company said in a statement, "Our production system is highly interconnected, which means the UAW’s targeted strike strategy will have knock-on effects for facilities that are not directly targeted for a work stoppage. In this case, the strike at Michigan Assembly Plant’s final assembly and paint departments has directly impacted the operations in other parts of the facility. Approximately 600 employees at Michigan Assembly Plant’s body construction department and south sub-assembly area of integrated stamping were notified not to report to work Sept. 15."

Stellantis had also reacted to the strike earlier, echoing GM's sentiments by expressing their disappointment. "We are extremely disappointed by the UAW leadership's refusal to engage in a responsible manner to reach a fair agreement in the best interest of our employees, their families and our customers. We immediately put the Company in contingency mode and will take all the appropriate structural decisions to protect our North American operations and the Company," Stellantis said in a statement, reported Fox Business.
It is pertinent to note that, UAW announced it would resume negotiations on Saturday after the strikes caused a parts shortage.

Read Next: ‘Potential Nightmare’: Ford, GM Thrust In Difficult Situation That Could Benefit Tesla, Says Analyst

Photo by Jonathan Weiss on Shutterstock