GM, Ford say UAW strike to affect other U.S. plants

General Motors and Ford Motor Co. said the UAW strike that began Friday morning will affect more of its operations.

GM said it expects to idle its Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas early next week because of a shortage of stampings made at the Wentzville Assembly plant in Missouri, which went on strike Friday.

And Ford said about 600 workers at its Michigan Assembly plant near Detroit — parts of which went on strike Friday — were told not to come to work Friday because of the impact of the work stoppage. They include employees in the body construction department and south sub-assembly area of the integrated stamping operation, Ford said.

"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," a Ford spokesperson said in a statement.

"This is not a lockout," the statement said. "This layoff is a consequence of the strike at Michigan Assembly Plant's final assembly and paint departments, because the components built by these 600 employees use materials that must be e-coated for protection. E-coating is completed in the paint department, which is on strike."

GM notified employees Friday that its Fairfax assembly operation, which builds the Cadillac XT4 compact crossover and Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan, could run out of parts as soon as next week.

"It is unfortunate that the UAW leadership's decision to call a strike at Wentzville Assembly has already had a negative ripple effect, with GM's Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas and its 2,000 team members expected to be idled as soon as early next week," GM said in a statement.

"We are working under an expired agreement at Fairfax. Unfortunately, there are no provisions that allow for company-provided SUB-pay in this circumstance," GM said. "We have said repeatedly that nobody wins in a strike, and that effects go well beyond our employees on the plant floor and negatively impact our customers, suppliers and the communities where we do business. What happened to our Fairfax team members is a clear and immediate demonstration of that fact."

UAW President Shawn Fain said in a press conference Friday he wasn’t surprised by the news but that he remained confident in his “stand-up strike” strategy.

“As plants go out it may affect other people down the line, that’s the reality of any strike,” he said.

Fain promised to support the laid off workers, saying the union may provide financial assistance from its strike fund, depending on the circumstances.

“Our members will be taken care of no matter what happens,” he said. “We have their backs.”

Michael Martinez contributed to this report.