UAW Holds Off Expanding Strike Against Ford, GM, and Stellantis, Citing Progress in Talks

The United Auto Workers (UAW) said on Friday it would not expand its ongoing strike against the Big Three, General Motors (GM) Ford (F), and Stellantis (STLA), citing progress in negotiations.

UAW President Shawn Fain said the union reached a "major breakthrough" with GM, as the company agreed to include electric battery manufacturing workers under the union's national agreement, a major concession for the automaker amid concerns that the stand up strike would impact its most profitable plant in Arlington, Texas. Earlier this week, Ford acknowledged that electric battery plants were a key source of contention in the negotiations with the union.

Fain also noted that Ford and Stellantis had previously agreed to reinstate the cost of living allowance, a key component of the union's demands, and that both automakers made progress in regard to increasing wages.

The UAW strike comes as the Big Three are in the early stages of a costly transition to electric vehicles (EVs), and the strike could add to challenges for the Big Three, potentially lending an advantage to competitors like Tesla (TSLA), according to Wedbush analysts.

In just its first two weeks, the UAW strike is estimated to have cost $3.95 billion in economic losses, according to Anderson Economic Group. The third-week losses could also surpass the costs of both of the first two weeks due to “more striking workers, more laid-off workers at other facilities, and growing distress among suppliers,” Patrick Anderson, founder of Anderson Economic Group, told Investopedia.

While the UAW did not widen the scale of its strike as the union did in past weeks, it did not call off the approximately 25,000 workers already engaged in the strike as negotiations with the automakers continue.

The UAW went on strike on Sept. 15. As of markets close on Friday, GM shares have lost over 8%, while Ford shares were down roughly 5% since trading ended on Sept. 14. Stellantis shares were up about 3.3% over the same period.