Up To 100,000 Canada Layoffs Seen From GM Strike

Source: Bloomberg News

Up to 100,000 Canadian autoworkers and parts makers could be out of work by the end of this week due to the UAW strike against General Motors in the U.S., Buzz Hargrove predicted Monday.

That's how many Canadians are employed supplying GM plants in the U.S. with transmissions, engines, pistons, and myriad other automotive parts.

"It is not inconceivable that by the end of this week, we could have anywhere between 80,000 and 100,000 people unemployed, mostly in Ontario, but some in Quebec," said Hargrove, president of the CAW, the Canadian auto workers union.

GM Canada Ltd. has 15,563 hourly employees in Canada, most of whom will probably end up being affected by the strike. They will be paid, in accordance with their labour agreements. But the fate of parts workers, particularly those in the third and fourth-tier roles, will not be as comfortable.

Many are non-union, and even those who are covered by union contracts may not be paid for the work they lose, although they will be eligible for unemployment if the strike drags on.



Read more: http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=b12c39b5-ae43-4067-8194-46be6dd7da40&k=36736

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By Wednesday, employees at some auto suppliers in Jackson may have to walk away from their jobs with a layoff notice in hand, rather than a picket sign.

Jim Gillette, director of supplier analysis for CSM Worldwide, a global automotive market analysis group, said some GM suppliers would be impacted by a UAW strike "almost immediately."

"Within a maximum of 48 hours you see a shutdown of lines at supply shops," Gillette said Monday. "It doesn't make sense in the manufacturing environment we are in today to build up an inventory of product."

There are 400 to 600 GM suppliers in Michigan, the most of any state, Gillette said, making a strike of any length a concern to more than just those in GM plants.

"There are people really freaking out," Gillette said. "The whole system is rather fragile because of Michigan's poor state of economic health."

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http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?/base/news-22/119072914736500.xml&coll=3

and start looking into buyouts.

:bounce: :thumbsup: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :think: :eyes: :mad: