Steel Products

GM Lays Off Workers in Ohio and Indiana, Cites UAW Strike
Written by Ethan Bernard
October 2, 2023
General Motors has announced layoffs at its Parma Metal Center in Ohio and at its Marion Metal Center in Indiana.
The Detroit-based automaker said the job cuts resulted from the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike, which is now in its third week.
“The UAW leadership’s decision to call a strike at GM Wentzville Assembly (in Missouri), and now GM Lansing Delta Township Assembly (in Michigan), continues to have negative ripple effects,” a GM spokesman said in a statement to SMU on Monday.
Ohio, Indiana Workers Affected
Beginning on Monday, portions of the Parma Metal Center and the Marion Metal Center had no work available. 130 workers would be laid off at Parma and 34 at Marion, the spokesman said.
“The affected team members are not expected to return until the strike has been resolved,” he said.
Because the UAW members were working under an expired labor agreement, there were no provisions for company-provided supplemental unemployment benefits, he added.
UAW Responds
“The decision to lay off workers is not a ‘ripple effect,’ it’s a decision made by the company to put the squeeze on our members to accept a weak contract,” UAW president Shawn Fain said in a statement on Monday.
“GM owns it, and GM owns the fact that they took over a month to respond to our proposals, and have taken over another month to make serious progress,” he added.
Background
The Parma Metal Center employs ~960 people and stamps parts for most GM vehicles built in North America. This includes vehicles built at Wentzville Assembly, Lansing Delta Township, and Fairfax Assembly in Kansas.
The UAW went on strike at Wentzville on Sept. 15 and at Lansing Delta Township on Sept. 29. GM laid off workers at Fairfax, citing the strike.
The Marion Metal Center employs ~717 people and stamps parts for a variety of GM vehicles, including vehicles made at Wentzville Assembly, the company said.
The targeted strike against specific plants at all three Detroit-area automakers began on Sept. 15. It has expanded because no new labor agreement has been reached.

Ethan Bernard
Read more from Ethan BernardLatest in Steel Products

Nucor keeps HRC price unchanged
Nucor paused its weekly hot-rolled (HR) coil price this week, keeping it flat for the first time since Jan. 21. This comes after a nine-week rally that saw the company increase prices by double-digits for eight of those weeks.

Nucor increases plate prices by $40/ton
Nucor aims to increase prices for steel plate by $40 per short ton (st) with the opening of its May order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the increase was effective with new orders received on Friday, March 28, in a letter to customers dated the same day. The company said the price hike applied […]

US CRC price gains ground over imports
US cold-rolled (CR) coil prices increased again this week, while offshore prices declined.

SMU Steel Demand Index momentum slows
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. Contact info@steelmarketupdate.com for information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription. Growth in SMU’s Steel Demand Index eased in March after reaching a four-year high in late February. Despite a moderate gain, the index remains in expansion territory. The Steel Demand […]

Leibowitz: Impact of tariffs on US manufacturers
On February 10, President Trump announced a massive restructuring of tariffs on steel and aluminum. Those changes took effect on March 12, and they will impact US manufacturing. What will the impact be? Bye-bye exclusions Perhaps the most important change, which hits imports from all countries, is the loss of a product exclusion process to […]