Stellantis, GM report new layoffs following UAW strike expansion

The impacts of the United Auto Workers' 40-day auto strike continue to mount following a major escalation that shut down the Detroit automakers' largest and most profitable plants.

On Tuesday, the union expanded its strike against General Motors Co., taking down the automaker's profit-rich full-size SUV plant in Arlington, Texas. Workers there assemble the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, and the Cadillac Escalade and Escalade-V.

The latest walkout added about 5,000 UAW members to the UAW's simultaneous strike against GM, Stellantis NV and Ford Motor Co. It followed Monday's strike expansion at Stellantis, where some 6,800 workers walked out at the company's Ram 1500 truck plant in Sterling Heights. On Oct. 11, the union called out 8,700 workers at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant, which assembles Super Duty pickups, the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator.

In all, some 45,000 UAW members at eight assembly plants and 38 Stellantis and GM parts distribution centers now are on strike.

The strike has resulted in thousands of layoffs at other Detroit Three plants and their suppliers.

Stellantis on Tuesday announced 525 new layoffs, bringing its total number of strike-related layoffs to 2,045. The latest layoffs, which the company attributed to the strike at Sterling Heights Assembly, include 400 workers at its Sterling Stamping Plant and 125 at Warren Stamping. Those plants provide stamped parts for the Ram 1500; stamping for other products continues, the company said.

And beginning Wednesday, GM said it will lay off 139 workers at its Parma Metal Center in Ohio because there will be no work available as a result of the Arlington strike. Already, 137 workers there were laid off because of strikes at assembly plants in Wentzville, Missouri, and Lansing Delta Township.

Overall, the automaker reports about 2,640 strike-related layoffs at six plants in five states.

"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, such as Parma," the company said in a statement. "What is happening to our team members in all six plants is a clear demonstration of that fact. We will continue to bargain in good faith with the union to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.”

Ford has laid off 3,167 workers as a result of the strike.

Meanwhile, a notice filed with the state of Michigan dated Oct. 13 reports 10 strike-related layoffs at GDC Inc. subsidiary Faith Plastics in Marcellus. The company is a vendor for all three Detroit automakers, but reported that the strike began to affect its operations with the work stoppage at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant. The layoffs are expected to be temporary.

jgrzelewski@detroitnews.com