Toyota plans third India plant, new SUV as domestic sales surge - sources

FORDISM CREATES THE GLOBALIZED PROLETARIAT

Aditi Shah
Updated Wed, September 27, 2023 



NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Toyota Motor plans to build a third car plant in India, expanding production capacity in the country for the first time in over a decade as its partnership with Suzuki Motor boosts domestic volumes, two sources said.

The world's biggest car maker wants the plant to start with capacity of 80,000-120,000 vehicles a year, which could grow to around 200,000 over time, said one of the people who has direct knowledge of the plans.

The plant's proposed initial capacity would expand Toyota's existing manufacturing capacity in India by as much as 30% from 400,000 units currently.


Toyota has also begun development of a new sport utility vehicle (SUV) for the Indian market that would be launched in early 2026 and be an anchor product for the new factory, said the person and a third source briefed on the company's plans.

The sources declined to be identified as the automaker has not disclosed the expansion plans.

A representative for Toyota's India unit declined to comment.

Toyota's India sales have soared due to a global partnership with Suzuki under which the two Japanese car makers take some vehicles originally developed by their partner, then tweak and sell under their own brands to fill out their product line-up.

Cars originally from Maruti Suzuki's stable such as the Glanza hatchback and Urban Cruiser Hyryder SUV now account for 40% of Toyota's India sales.

About two-thirds of Toyota's current production capacity is used by Maruti Suzuki to build vehicles for both car makers as part of their partnership.

Toyota, known for its Fortuner SUV and Camry hybrid in India, told Reuters earlier in September it expects record domestic sales in 2023.

The Japanese car maker is now aiming to have production capacity of 500,000 vehicles per year before the end of the decade, including the car models it will supply to Suzuki, said two of the sources.

INDIA GROWTH

Toyota's expansion in India, the world's third-largest car market, comes at a time when it is seeing slowing growth in markets like Europe and North America and competition in Southeast Asia from Chinese players.

It currently has two car plants in Bidadi, a town in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, and the third one is being planned at the same premises. It added a third shift at the two plants in May, raising their combined annual capacity by 30% to over 400,000 vehicles.

The new C-segment SUV, codenamed 340D, that Toyota is working on will fill a gap between its mid-sized Urban Cruiser Hyryder and bigger multi-purpose vehicle Innova Hycross, two of the sources said.

It is working with suppliers to produce 60,000 units a year when it launches in early 2026, they added.

Toyota is also looking at introducing a "mini" Land Cruiser in India, they said, though added the car maker is not forecasting a large amount of sales and has yet to make a final decision. If Toyota does decide to press ahead with the model, parts would be imported for assembly in India, they said.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Peace pioneer Bertha von Suttner's message still resonates

Blaise GAUQUELIN with Pierre-Henry DESHAYES in Oslo
Wed, September 27, 2023 

The message of Austrian pacifist Bertha von Suttner, the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, still resonates

(Carl Pietzner)

The first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905, Austrian pacifist Bertha von Suttner's reflections are still cited by peace advocates as the war in Ukraine grinds on.

Von Suttner was looking for a "better ideal", according to French journalist Antoine Jacob, whose new biography "Bertha la Paix" ("Bertha of Peace") will be published next week.

More than a century later, her 1906 Nobel Peace Prize recipient speech -- in which she said happiness is developed in times of peace -- has lost nothing of its acuity.

"Fortresses are being erected, submarines built, whole areas mined, airships tested for use in war; and all this with such zeal –- as if to attack one's neighbour were the most inevitable and important function of a state," von Suttner told her mostly male listeners.

- Provocative work -

She was born into an aristocratic family in the Austrian Empire in 1843.

Burdened by her mother's gambling debts, she became a governess and music teacher in the von Suttner household and married the family's son Arthur, who like her refused to conform to norms.

As journalist and novel writer, the polyglot published 60 short stories, a few essays and 19 novels, including the influential and provocative anti-war novel "Lay Down Your Arms" in 1889.

Thanks to her aristocratic origins, her energy and determination, and her talent for mobilising goodwill, von Suttner became one of the leaders of the international peace movement.

"Daughter of a general, she was raised in an environment where falling at the front with God's approval was an honour," her biographer Jacob told AFP.

"We have to realise how far she came."

With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, von Suttner's reflections on respect for international law, disarmament and multilateralism are "more relevant than ever", said Norwegian Nobel historian Asle Sveen.

"The international order advocated by Suttner and the peace movement is once again disintegrating," Sveen said.

"Her admonishing message 'Lay Down Your Arms' is more relevant than ever in the face of nuclear threat gestures," Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told AFP.

Her cosmopolitan, liberal and anti-clerical worldview, however, earned her fierce enmity in nationalist circles, where she became derided as "Bertha of the Jews".

She died in June 1914 at the age of 71, just before World War I broke out.

- 'Decisive role' -

Von Suttner also played "a decisive role" in convincing her friend and patron, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, to award a prize for peace, according to Jacob.

But since the prestigious prize was first awarded in 1901, only 18 women have obtained the distinction, compared to 92 men.

The second woman to win it was American Jane Addams, 26 years after von Suttner.

Despite her prominence, which included being given a private audience by then US president Theodore Roosevelt, von Suttner did not have the right to vote -- and had to be accompanied by her husband when she travelled.

"Among all these men, she tried to play a role completely contrary to the dominant way of thinking and without anyone pushing her," Jacob told AFP.

Her legacy in Austria also had its ups and downs.

The Nazi regime, which annexed Austria in 1938, burned her books, and a Vienna square inaugurated in her honour was renamed in 1957 after poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

But in 1966 her image was printed on the 1,000-schilling banknote.

In 1986, a small Vienna street was named after her.

And today she appears on the two-euro coin of Austria, a neutral country which is host to several UN bodies.

bur-bg/jza/jj/smw

US

GOP lawmakers demand documents on Ford battery partnership with CATL

David Shepardson
Wed, September 27, 2023


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairs of three U.S. House of Representatives committees demanded Ford Motor turn over documents tied to its partnership with Chinese battery company CATL and threatened to call CEO Jim Farley to testify before Congress.

Republicans Jason Smith, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Mike Gallagher - who chair the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and China select committees - jointly wrote to Farley with a new deadline seeking documents about the CATL partnership and the automaker's plan to build a $3.5 billion battery manufacturing plant in Michigan using Chinese technology.

"Ford’s ongoing refusal to provide substantive responses ... raises serious concerns regarding its licensing agreement with CATL," the lawmakers wrote on Tuesday in a previously unreported letter seen by Reuters.

Republicans have been probing Ford's battery plant plan for months over concerns it could facilitate the flow of U.S. tax subsidies to China and leave Ford dependent on Chinese technology.

On Monday, Ford said it paused work on the Michigan battery plant, citing concerns about its ability to operate it competitively as it remains in broader contract negotiations, drawing condemnation from the United Auto Workers union.

The lawmakers want documents including the Ford/CATL licensing agreement, communications between Ford and the Biden Administration referring to the licensing agreement and achievable tax credits, and records of Ford's knowledge of CATL's "apparent attempt to shield its connection to Xinjiang-based companies."

Human rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses against Xinjiang’s Uyghur inhabitants, including the mass use of forced labor in internment camps. China denies the allegations.

CATL did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The lawmakers said if Ford does not disclose records sought previously by Oct. 6 "we will consider other means to obtain the documents, including compulsory process or insisting that you appear before Congress to publicly explain your failure to comply."

A Ford spokeswoman said the company had answered multiple congressional letters and "thoroughly responded to questions and shared detailed information about Ford’s work to strengthen domestic battery manufacturing" but did not say if the company would comply with the document request.

In 2022, Congress passed legislation barring $7,500 in future consumer EV tax credits if any battery components are manufactured or assembled by a "foreign entity of concern."


Ford has been awaiting guidance to determine if batteries produced by the Marshall plant would run afoul of the requirements.

Last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also faced questions from Smith about the automaker's relationship with CATL.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sonali Paul)

US judge overturns Eli Lilly's $176.5 million loss in Teva patent case

Blake Brittain
Tue, September 26, 2023 


(Reuters) - Drugmaker Eli Lilly convinced a federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday to overturn a $176.5 million jury verdict for Teva Pharmaceutical that found Lilly's migraine drug Emgality infringed three patents related to Teva's rival drug Ajovy.

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said in a post-trial ruling that the Teva patents covering the use of antibodies to inhibit headache-causing peptides were invalid.

"The Court does not reach this decision nor overturn a jury verdict lightly," Burroughs said.

Representatives for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.

Eli Lilly earned more than $650 million from Emgality sales worldwide last year, while Teva earned $377 million from Ajovy, according to company reports.

Teva sued Lilly over the patents in 2018. On the same day that Teva sued, the court dismissed two related Teva lawsuits seeking to block Emgality from coming on to the U.S. market.

A jury awarded Teva $176.5 million in damages in November and rejected Lilly's argument that the patents were invalid.

Burroughs reversed the jury's validity decision on Tuesday. She concluded that the patents were overly broad and did not enable scientists to recreate the antibodies without "undue experimentation."

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by David Bario and Matthew Lewis)

Epic Games asks US Supreme Court to review Apple antitrust case

Wed, September 27, 2023 
By Stephen Nellis

(Reuters) - Epic Games on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the antitrust case it brought against Apple, hoping to reverse lower court rulings that have found the iPhone maker has not violated antitrust laws.

"Fortnite" owner Epic has waged a multi-year legal battle against Apple alleging its App Store, where developers pay commissions of up to 30% on in-app purchases, violates U.S. antitrust laws. In 2021, a trial court ruled Apple's App Store does not break antitrust laws.

But the lower court said a provision that prevents developers from providing users with a link to other third-party payment methods violated a California unfair competition law. Apple was ordered to change that practice, but those orders have been on hold while the appeal plays out.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's ruling, and the U.S. Supreme Court has already refused an emergency bid by Epic to enact the lower court ruling about changing App Store rules, saying they must remain on hold.

Epic's filing on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify several complex areas of antitrust law.

The trial court found Apple's practices do in fact reduce competition in the software market, but found in favor of Apple's arguments that those anticompetitive effects are offset by its efforts to keep iPhones secure.

Epic has argued the trial court performed that legal balancing test incorrectly.

Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

Epic Games asks Supreme Court to reconsider Apple antitrust ruling

The company previously attempted to force Apple to change its App Store payment practices.

Malak Saleh
·Reporter
Wed, September 27, 2023


Epic Games has asked the US Supreme Court to review a ruling from 2021 that cleared Apple of violating antitrust laws, according to a Bloomberg report. The Fortnite maker previously claimed that Apple violated California's Unfair Competition law, stating that the App Store prohibits developers from directing users to other third-party payment systems. The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 2021 court’s decision back in April, finding that Apple’s practices had “a substantial anticompetitive effect that harms consumers,” but didn’t meet the bar for an antitrust case.

Should Epic win its appeal, Apple could stand to lose a substantial source of revenue. The company takes a cut of all purchases made through its App Store, which can run as high as 30 percent. Epic Games has been the loudest voice protesting this cut, though other companies like Spotify and Tile are also part of the Coalition for App Fairness, which has been pressuring Apple to change its policies. Outside of the US, Epic and its peers have had more success in changing the status quo: Authorities in both South Korea and the Netherlands have ruled that Apple must allow third-party payments, though Apple is still taking a considerable cut as a “transaction fee.” Apple is also rumored to be preparing support for third-party app stores in response to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.

Bloomberg says the Supreme Court could decide if it will take up the case before the end of the year. In the meantime, Fortnite is still not available on the App Store. It’s been absent since August 2020, when Apple banned the game after Epic added alternative payment methods to bypass the App Store cut.

Epic is also in a legal battle with Google for similar practices. Both Epic and the Match Group, which operates dating apps like Hinge and Tinder, are alleging that Google abuses its control of Android app distribution through the Play Store by establishing unfair fees and requirements for in-app purchases. That trial is supposed to kick off in the next few weeks.

Epic asks the Supreme Court to weigh in on its beef with Apple


Taylor Hatmaker
Wed, September 27, 2023 


We haven't heard the last of Epic's crusade against Apple over the iPhone maker's App Store fees.

Epic Games filed a cert petition with the Supreme Court on Wednesday, setting things in motion for the highest court in the land to reexamine if Apple's software business violates federal antitrust laws.

We'll know in the coming months if the Supreme Court will select the case, which would reopen a protracted legal battle between the two companies that's wended its way through the courts for going on five years now. Apple will likely file a petition soon too, taking issue with a previous ruling that was partially sympathetic to Epic's complaints.

Epic Games, which makes Fortnite and runs its own software marketplace, the Epic Games Store, initially sued Apple back in 2020. That lawsuit came after Apple booted Fortnite from iOS — a controversy that Epic itself kicked off by purposefully breaking App Store rules by giving players a way to pay directly for Fortnite's in-game currency.

That workaround circumvented Apple's controversial fees, running afoul of the tech giant's guidelines in the process and kicking off Epic's vigorous campaign to rally developers against Apple's longstanding software practices.

Earlier this year, Apple largely won an appeals court fight with Epic stemming from the same complaints over the company's App Store policies. In an opinion issued in April, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld most of a previous decision issued by a federal judge in U.S District Court for the Northern District of California. That ruling denied most of Epic's argument that Apple violates federal antitrust laws by boxing out alternative software markets on iOS.

While the courts mostly landed on Apple's side, the federal judge did rule that Apple violated California’s Unfair Competition Law by restricting developers from telling consumers about alternative payment options — a sliver of a win for Epic. The appeals court affirmed that decision earlier this year.

With the ongoing legal fight now headed in the direction of the Supreme Court, Epic requested that developers be allowed to point iPhone users toward payment options beyond Apple's walled garden. That request was rejected by Justice Elena Kagan in August, meaning that Apple's existing rules will remain in place for now unless the Supreme Court decides not to weigh in after all.

View this document on Scribd


App Store payment rules won’t change as Apple’s battle with Epic Games heads to Supreme Court

SEC chief says new California law could 'change baseline' for coming SEC climate rule

Wed, September 27, 2023 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gensler testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington


(Reuters) - A pending law in California that would require companies to make climate-related disclosures could affect how federal regulators consider the costs of their own forthcoming climate regulations, Wall Street's top regulator told lawmakers on Wednesday.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler's testimony during a house oversight hearing highlighted the potential for the California law to support the agency's efforts to regulate corporate climate disclosures, which face stiff opposition from industrial lobbies.

"If it were signed into law, as I understand it, that would require companies a certain size to report their climate risk," Gensler said in testimony before the House of Representatives.

"That may change the baseline. If those companies were reporting to California, then it would be in essence less costly because they'd already be producing that information."

California Governor Gavin Newsom said earlier this month that he intended to sign legislation requiring large companies to disclose their carbon footprints.

The bill tackles one of the thorniest issues in climate regulation by asking companies to measure and report a complex category of indirect emissions linked to their supply chains and end-users, known as Scope 3.

The SEC last year proposed long-awaited regulations that would likewise require publicly traded companies to notify investors of the companies' emissions, as well as climate-related spending and risks, amid a wider global effort to address fossil fuel-driven climate change by requiring companies to disclose their emissions and risks.

Among a barrage of objections, industry has complained the SEC has underestimated the cost of complying with the proposed rule.

Companies and industry groups have complained that the proposed rule would require them to develop new systems for accounting for emissions, not only by themselves but by their suppliers, driving up the costs of complying with the law for industries as varied as agriculture, transportation and banking.

(Reporting by Douglas Gillison; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

UBS, Credit Suisse face wider US probe over Russia sanctions -Bloomberg News

Reuters
Wed, September 27, 2023

UBS and Credit Suisse banks logos are seen in Zurich

ZURICH (Reuters) - UBS shares fell on Wednesday after a report that the U.S. Department of Justice has stepped up scrutiny into alleged compliance failures that helped Russian clients evade sanctions.

UBS declined to comment to Reuters when asked for a response to the Bloomberg News report, which said the alleged compliance failures related to UBS and Credit Suisse, which was taken over by its larger rival UBS earlier this year.

A full-scale investigation by the Department of Justice focusing mainly on Credit Suisse and potential sanctions violations was now underway, added the Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Department of Justice declined to comment.

UBS, in its latest financial report at the end of August, said its sanctions programmes are designed to comply with sanctions across multiple jurisdictions, "including those imposed by the United Nations, Switzerland, the European Union, the UK and the United States".

Switzerland's largest bank also said in the report that Credit Suisse offices in Britain, Netherlands, France and Belgium, have been contacted by law enforcement officials as part of an investigation into cross border banking for rich clients, without giving details.

"Credit Suisse has conducted a review of these issues, the UK and French aspects of which have been closed, and is continuing to cooperate with the authorities," UBS added.

Trading in UBS shares was temporarily halted after they fell nearly 8% following the report. The Swiss bank's shares later recovered to trade 3.3% lower at 1500 GMT.

The Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the matter, said the DOJ had spoken to U.S.-based lawyers for UBS about Credit Suisse's alleged exposure to sanctions violations since UBS acquired its smaller rival in June.

The DOJ is also looking into possible compliance failures at UBS, one of the people cited by Bloomberg said. The people also said the investigation was still in the early stages, and might not result in charges or a settlement.

Bloomberg's report said the DOJ probe covers restrictions imposed after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and previous rounds put in place following its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

JP Morgan said in a note that a DOJ investigation was a headwind to UBS, but the bank had built sufficient provisions to deal with any costs arising from the case.

UBS had litigation provisions of $4.7 billion at the end of June, while the bank could make a further $2.2 billion in provisions related to potential future litigation hits.

The Swiss bank has also adjusted its valuation of Credit Suisse by $3 billion to cover outflows related to contingent liabilities such as law suits.

"Overall, this is $6.8bn in provisions and $3bn in contingent liabilities i.e. nearly $10bn in litigation related buffer in our forecasts," JP Morgan said.

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru and John Revill in Zurich; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Jane Merriman and Alexander Smith)

‘Let me be blunt’: UAW VP for GM has strong words about Trump’s visit to Michigan

Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press
Updated Wed, September 27, 2023 

The UAW's lead negotiator in contract talks with General Motors on Wednesday issued a scathing assessment of former President Donald Trump hours before Trump was due to speak in Detroit.

UAW Vice President for General Motors Mike Booth sent the Detroit Free Press a profanity-laden email about his thoughts on Trump's trip to Michigan.

"Let me be blunt. Donald Trump is coming off as a pompous (expletive)," Booth said in an email. "Coming to Michigan to speak at a nonunion employer and pretending it has anything to do with our fight at the Big Three is just more verbal diarrhea from the former president."

Trump was expected to deliver prime-time remarks at Drake Enterprises in Clinton Township. The auto parts supplier is nonunionized. According to an AP report, Trump will speak to a crowd of "several hundred current and former UAW members, as well as members of plumbers and pipefitters unions."


Booth's remarks came as he and GM negotiators were due back at the main bargaining table with GM leadership Wednesday afternoon, two sources familiar with the talks told the Detroit Free Press.

Booth said Trump's visit to Detroit is disingenuous given his past. In a video about plant closings that the union released Wednesday morning, 2017 footage shows Trump promising autoworkers in Ohio he would save their jobs. But in 2019 GM closed its Lordstown Assembly plant in northeast Ohio, displacing thousands of workers there and helping lead to the union's 2019 strike against GM.


"Where were his rallies for striking workers when we were on the picket line in 2019? Where are the jobs he promised to return to the U.S. while on the campaign trail in 2015?" Booth said. "The proof is in the pudding. His actions in office went to enrich the very elite few while the working class of America stagnated. This stunt is another ploy to pull the wool over the eyes of the working class. Again!”

As for GM's reaction to Trump's visit, it remained the same as the statement the company provided for President Joe Biden's visit on Tuesday, which is that its focus is not on politics but on bargaining to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.

"We have presented five, record economic proposals that address the areas our team members have said matter most, including wage increases and job security," GM's statement read. "We value our workforce and understand the impact a strike has on our employees, communities and the economy — nobody wins."

The union's support is crucial for both presidential candidates: Trump and Biden. In 2016, UAW members in Michigan helped Trump win the White House. In 2020, UAW members in Michigan helped Biden take the White House from Trump. That's why both men are courting union support in Michigan

Trump hasn't voiced support for the union's demands, unlike Biden, who said the workers deserved a good contract. But Trump has said that UAW workers should reject the automakers' transition to making more electric vehicles. The Biden administration and Democrats have a green agenda and are in favor of EVs.

The union has supported Trump's "new NAFTA" or United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. It was designed to create more U.S. manufacturing jobs because it mandated that 70% of the steel and aluminum in a car be sourced from North America, and that seven core vehicle parts also meet North American content requirements.

UAW President Shawn Fain has not endorsed either man for president, saying whoever gets the endorsement must earn it.

In a historic first Tuesday, Biden walked the picket line with striking UAW workers at GM's Willow Run Redistribution Center in Van Buren Township, where the automaker stores and distributes parts. Fain joined Biden, and when asked later on CNN whether Fain would meet Trump on Wednesday, Fain replied: "I see no point in meeting with him," because Trump doesn't care what "the working class stands for."

"In 2019, when he was the president of the United States, where was he then?” Fain said. “Our workers at GM were on strike for two months. … I didn’t see him hold a rally, I didn’t see him on the picket line and I sure as hell didn’t see him comment on it. He was missing in action.”

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trump’s Michigan visit: UAW VP for GM Mike Booth has strong words


UAW negotiator lays into Trump: ‘Where are the jobs he promised?’

Miranda Nazzaro
Wed, September 27, 2023 



The Union Auto Workers’s (UAW) lead negotiator in contract talks with General Motors dug into former President Trump, just hours ahead of the former president’s talk with union workers in Michigan, calling his expected rally “verbal diarrhea.”

In a letter first sent to the Detroit Free Press, UAW Vice President for General Motors Mike Booth wrote, “Let me be blunt. Donald Trump is coming off as a pompous a–hole. Coming to Michigan to speak at a nonunion employer and pretending it has anything to do with our fight at the Big Three is just more verbal diarrhea from the former president.”

The letter, later shared by the UAW with The Hill, comes just hours before Trump is expected to hold a rally at a nonunion plant with current and former union workers amid their ongoing strikes against the “Big Three” automakers – Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.

“Where were his rallies for striking workers when we were on the picket line in 2019? Where are the jobs he promised to return to the U.S. while on the campaign trail in 2015?” Booth said. “The proof is in the pudding. His actions in office went to enrich the very elite few while the working class of America stagnated. This stunt is another ploy to pull the wool over the eyes of the working class. Again!”

Booth’s comments are likely a reference to Trump’s vow during his 2015 presidential campaign to bring millions of jobs back to America and away from foreign adversaries.

Booth’s comments echo those from UAW President Shawn Fain Tuesday, who said Trump serves a “billionaire class,” and does not have “any bit of care about what our workers stand for, what the working class stands for.”

Like Booth, Fain also took aim at Trump’s track record, asking where the former president was during the 2019 strike by General Motors workers. Fain also called out Trump’s rpopsoal during his 2016 presidential campaign to rotate auto manufacturing industry jobs from the Midwest to the South, which the union has argued would force union workers into jobs with lower wages.

Trump’s visit to Detroit comes on the heels of President Biden’s trip to Belleville, Mich. on Tuesday, where he joined the picket line with striking autoworkers. The move was seen by some as a likely offense against Trump, who could be the incumbent’s 2024 presidential opponent.

Biden spoke at a General Motors facility alongside Fain, who has yet to endorse Biden’s reelection bid, citing concerns over the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles (EVs), which put autoworkers’ jobs at risk.

The UAW began its strike against the automakers nearly two weeks ago, and expanded it to an additional 38 locations last week. Reports surfaced Wednesday that the union could further expand the strike Friday if significant progress is not made in talks with Detroit automakers.

The union is asking for wage increases, cost-of-living pay raises, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, union representation at new battery plants, restoration of traditionally-defined benefit pensions for new hires who currently receive only 401(k)-style retirement plans, and pension increases for retirees.

US autoworkers strike: when will dealerships run out of cars to sell?

Inventories of popular models like Ford Bronco are running low amid UAW action


Peter Campbell in London and Claire Bushey in Wayne, Michigan

 FT

SEPTEMBER 26 2023

There are plenty of new Jeeps and Ford Broncos for sale at Jay Darling’s dealerships. At least for now.

But the assembly lines that make these models, as well as the Chevrolet Colorado truck, have been idle for almost a fortnight following a strike by the United Auto Workers.

It is the first time that the UAW has simultaneously targeted all three of the carmakers that dominate Detroit — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — as the union seeks higher pay for workers at a time of record profits for the industry.

As the work stoppage continues, one question looms over dealerships operating in the US: when will they run out of vehicles to sell?

Darling, who manages 15 locations across Maine, expects inventories of affected vehicles to shrink over the next four to six weeks.

“Eventually, some of these plant closures are going to affect allocations [to dealers] and inventory levels,” said Darling, who stocks the Ford Bronco as well as Stellantis-made Jeeps and GM’s Chevy Colorado.

“I sell all three brands, so I’ll be affected in all three areas,” he added. “That’s probably the most catastrophic part of this, that it’s three at once.”

As pay talks became heated in the weeks before the strike, attention turned to the inventory of vehicles made by the so-called Detroit Three that are still sitting on dealer forecourts.

The measure is crucial for customer retention because most US motorists want to drive their vehicle away on the day they buy rather than waiting for months for a factory order.

This typically means that American showrooms stock higher numbers of cars than in non-US markets. Often, if customers cannot buy the car they want there and then, they will purchase one from a neighbouring dealership and potentially a rival brand.

“People are going to have to go to where there’s inventory,” Darling said. “The people that can produce vehicles will be a winner from [the strike].”

Sometimes carmakers bracing for a strike will pump out a larger-than-normal number of vehicles in the weeks beforehand to prepare for the impending downtime. But this time round, data experts saw little sign of automakers boosting output ahead of the industrial action.

According to data group Cox Automotive, GM has 58 days of supply across all its brands, Ford has 85 days and Stellantis has 107.

“That puts Stellantis in better shape to resist, but it’s all theoretical,” said Philippe Houchois, an auto analyst at Jefferies.

Inventories of some models are even tighter. Dealers can keep selling the Jeep Wrangler, made by Stellantis, for 74 days without replenishing their stocks, but can go less than half that time before running out of the Chevy Colorado. For the Ford Bronco and Ranger, both made at a striking plant in Wayne, Michigan, there is 40 and 26 days of supply, respectively.

“We’re certainly feeling an impact,” said Matthew Demmer, owner of Jack Demmer Automotive Group, which has a dealership location across the road from the Ford plant in Wayne.

“Michigan Assembly makes two hot products, Bronco and Ranger. Our supply on those two products has pretty well dwindled out at this point,” Demmer added. “We’re still taking orders, we’re still trying to connect clients with something in the system . . . but unfortunately, part of this is the waiting game.”

One potential point of weakness for carmakers is that they are operating with less room for manoeuvre, after a three-year period during which they made record profits from lower sales as pandemic supply shortages boosted prices.

“The industry has enjoyed tightness of supply, which helped pricing,” said Houchois. “It seems this time the industry was willing to go into this strike with less inventory than before because they wanted to influence pricing.”

This, however, is a gamble. The UAW’s strategy of targeting specific plants with limited notice not only prevents the quick depletion of the union’s strike fund. It also causes maximum disruption for carmakers.

Auto industry recovery has favoured investors and bosses over workers

After a strike in 2019, GM was able to boost production and make up lost revenue, “essentially limiting the strike impact to about half a month’s worth of sales”, said analyst Tom Narayan at RBC Capital Markets. GM has said that strike cost it $3.6bn.

But the unpredictability of this year’s industrial action means that while the impact on sales could be smaller, the length and scale of the knock-on disruption is harder to forecast.

“Guerrilla warfare can be as painful as full-out war,” said Houchois. “You hit one plant, and end up destructing the whole organisation.”

The carmakers “have more of an incentive to settle, because you have no idea what is going to hit you next”, he added.

However, there are also risks for the UAW. If the strike drags on, customers could turn to marques that are not made by Ford, GM or Stellantis. This in turn threatens the market share of companies that employ UAW members, potentially weakening their job security in the future.

“The worst-case scenario is if the Detroit Three lose share, and [it goes] to . . . Japanese or Korean [rivals],” Houchois said.

UAW president Shawn Fain has kept his lips sealed on some strike needs. Is it symbolic?

Jamie L. LaReau,

 USA TODAY NETWORK
Wed, September 27, 2023 

UAW President Shawn Fain's most recent update on contract talks with Detroit Three automakers left out a number of original demands, prompting some experts to wonder whether the talks are starting to focus on what really needs to get done.

Fain laid out for union members Friday the most recent offer from Ford Motor Co. and the areas the union considers gains with the company, signaling to General Motors and Stellantis where they might be coming up short. For example, Fain said, Ford agreed to reinstate a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which would be a big win. He said neither GM nor Stellantis had offered the same.

Strikers walk out at noon from 38 GM, Stellantis parts including Center Line Packaging as UAW President Shawn Fain called for more shops to go out on strike Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.

Three sources familiar with the negotiations told the Detroit Free Press on Monday that the expectation is Ford will likely reach a tentative agreement with the UAW before the other two automakers, who would then use the deal as a template for their contract offers.

Given his previous list of demands, Fain made no mention Friday of the status of the union's requests for a 40% wage increase across the life of the contract, of establishing a 32-hour work week, or reinstating pensions and retiree health care benefits, all of which indicate to industry experts that those issues might be close to being settled with the automakers or they are possibly off the table for now.

"Fain has been publicly vocal about his demands," said Erik Gordon, business professor and labor expert at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. "People who negotiate in public rarely announce, 'We have given in on X.' They just stop talking about it."
Did Ford reach a deal with UAW?

A source familiar with the negotiations who asked to not be named because they are not authorized to be quoted in the media said throughout the weekend the union and Ford had “very active talks,” but there are “some key issues to go.” As for GM and Stellantis, the source said the union was not seeing the same movement as with Ford. But things were fluid and communication remained open.

But this person also said Fain did not update all of the demands during his Friday Facebook presentation so as to keep his announcement short and to emphasize real movement at Ford compared with GM and Stellantis. The demands Fain did not mention are not necessarily settled or off the table, this person said.

See the picket lines as UAW strike launched, targeting big three Detroit automakers

Some labor experts the Free Press interviewed noted that history dictates otherwise.

"Historically, when an end appears in sight in UAW bargaining the president pares down demands to include what the union absolutely needs ... what the union needs to assure ratification, which in fact is in the interest of both parties," said Harley Shaiken, professor emeritus at University of California-Berkeley.

Marick Masters, a business professor and labor expert at Wayne State University, said it is noteworthy that the UAW spared Ford in the union's expansion of the strike to more facilities Friday, citing the progress Ford had made in talks.

Fain ordered some 5,500 additional union members at 38 sites to walk off the job Friday at all parts distribution centers across the nation at GM and Stellantis. But Masters said beyond the increased pressure on those two automakers, it's hard to make out what Fain's strategy might be based on Friday's comments.

"Interestingly, Fain did not enumerate wages, the four-day work week, retiree health care, and defined benefit pensions. Are these items either settled or off the proverbial table? Most likely not," Masters said. "Silence does not manifest agreement."

He said it's possible the parties are narrowing the gap on the issues and the overall "scope of terrain" they are considering.

"In any negotiation, there are tradeoffs between issues," Masters said. "Shawn Fain has repeatedly said that he does not expect to get everything in the members' demands. That does not tell me he or the UAW discounts certain demands, but they realize that successful bargaining occurs in the realm of the possible."
What is the UAW asking Ford for?

Fain first declared a strike as contract talks failed before the current contract expired at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14. Fain announced the first wave of plants the union would strike as: Ford Michigan Assembly Plant (Final Assembly and Paint only) in Wayne, Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio and GM's Wentzville Assembly in Missouri. There are about 13,000 workers on the picket lines at those three sites in addition to those sent out Friday.

"I can see Ford getting a (tentative agreement) as early as this week, definitely within the next 30 days," said another person familiar with the bargaining across the companies. "The company wants to get people back to work and people want to go back to work. If we get a TA with Ford, I think GM will fall in line. I don’t know about Stellantis."

This person said union leaders know there will be give and take in the ultimate agreement. For example, most union leaders know they are unlikely to get a 32-hour work week, but "we are going to have a conversation about work/life balance."

This person asked to not be identified due to the sensitivity of the negotiations.

For it's part, Ford said in a statement Friday it is working "diligently with the UAW" to reach a deal and although it is "making progress in some areas, we still have significant gaps to close on the key economic issues. In the end, the issues are interconnected and must work within an overall agreement that supports our mutual success.”

On Monday evening, as President Joe Biden prepared to head to Detroit to join the UAW on the picket line, Ford said it would stay focused on bargaining adding, "Ford and the UAW are going to be the ones to solve this by finding creative solutions to tough issues together at the bargaining table."

Here are the areas where Ford and the UAW have made progress, Fain said Friday:

Reinstating the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to offset increases in inflation over the life of the contract.


Eliminating a wage tier by putting Rawsonville Components and Sterling Axle employees on the same wage as assembly workers.


Agreeing the union has a right to strike over any plant closures.


Offering two years pay and health care coverage for laid-off workers.


Agreeing to immediately convert all temporary workers to regular full-time with at least 90 days employment upon ratification of a new contract.


Agreeing to an enhanced profit-sharing formula that would have resulted in a 13.3% increase for the average employee in payouts last year. Also, expand profit sharing to temporary employees who have been employed for at least 90 days.

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UAW already might have a good deal with Ford

Though Fain expressed more frustration amid talks with GM and Stellantis, the UAW "won a serious victory" when GM agreed to eliminate the wage tiers for workers at Customer Care and Aftersales (CCA) and GM Components Holdings (GMCH) facilities. These workers would be on the same scale as assembly workers.

But both GM and Stellantis fall short of offering adequate COLA plans, Fain said Friday. They also rejected the following UAW proposals: job security, profit-sharing and converting temporary employees to permanent, according to Fain.

Two other people familiar with the talks between GM and the UAW indicate that reinstating COLA, which the union lost in 2009 when automakers were struggling, is an area to which GM is most resistant. In its Sept. 14 proposal to the union, which Barra has called a "record offer," GM offered "Cost-of-living inflation protection" for maximum wage earners. The way that would work is if inflation exceeds an annual wage increase, employees at top wage will be paid the difference. So this proposal is not exactly the same as the COLA provision the union wants that would protect all workers from any increase in inflation over the course of the contract.

If the union insists on getting retiree health care, defined benefit pensions and a 32-hour work week, plus COLA and a large wage increase, then a stalemate with the companies, including Ford, seems inevitable, Wayne State's Masters said.

"The terms on which the UAW and Ford have made progress, including eliminating tiers, restoring COLA, accelerating transition from temporary to full-time employment, the right to strike and economic security for laid-off workers, along with increase profit-sharing offer a skeleton of a potential tentative agreement," Masters said. "In a certain respect, the union has already won a good contract based on these preliminary terms."

Holding out for more with expanded strikes and aggressive media relations might work to the UAW's advantage, he said.

"Stronger action may be required to get a deal with either Stellantis or GM,' Masters said. "But a tentative agreement with Ford would give impetus to that end."

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: In UAW strike negotiations, what is president Shawn Fain not saying?