Unionized employees at Mack Trucks, owned by Volvo, have initiated a strike alongside the UAW after a proposed five-year contract was overwhelmingly rejected. About 73% of the workers across Pennsylvania, Florida, and Maryland opposed the deal, demanding larger raises to help cope with inflation.
Not great for the already rising toll the strike is taking on the economy. Anderson Economic Group has estimated a total economic loss of $5.5B through the third full week of the strike — including $579M in lost wages, $2.68B in automaker losses, $1.6B for suppliers, and $1.26B in dealer and customer losses.
Deutsche Bank calculated vehicle production losses for the Detroit Three since the UAW strike began:
🔽 Stellantis: 18,893 vehicles
🔽 Ford: 21,296 vehicles
🔽 GM: 34,176 vehicles
Despite the strike's impact on production, the UAW is withholding further strikes against the Big Three, citing General Motors' unexpected willingness to allow workers at joint-venture battery plants to be covered by union contracts. GM's concession could be critical if rivals Ford and Stellantis follow suit.
Volkswagen's PowerCo and Belgian firm Umicore have selected Poland as the site for their cutting-edge car battery parts plant in a $2.9B venture.
Poland's strategic advantages, including skilled labor and renewable energy sources, heavily influenced the location decision.
The plant will generate approximately 900 jobs and produce 160 gigawatt hours per year — enough for 2.2M electric vehicles.
In a time of cutting-edge innovation, Helixx is rolling out a pretty rad new concept — the Helixx Cargo: a pint-sized electric delivery van that assembles like a giant, eco-friendly LEGO set that you can’t accidentally step on.
This adorable van is crafted from just five recyclable polymer panels that click together, simplifying the manufacturing process by up to 50%.
The petite but powerful EV will offer 1,102 lbs of hauling power and 55 inches of load space. Helixx says their removable Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries are designed to provide users with 24 hours of uninterrupted usage.
Hope you weren’t looking to buy one. Once built, Helixx plans to only offer them to users on a subscription basis at $0.25 per hour.