The United Auto Workers and Detroit's Big Three—GM, Ford, and Stellantis—made strides yesterday towards a final agreement that would end the nearly 4-week-long strike. 🪧
The proposed deal promises substantial wage hikes of 20-23% over four years for nearly 150K workers, with Ford and Stellantis also agreeing to reinstate cost-of-living adjustments and accelerate temporary workers' progression to full-time status.
However, major sticking points remain for the union, particularly concerning retirement benefits and the inclusion of EV battery plants in union agreements.
Closer to a deal certainly doesn’t mean a done deal, but it is progress.
Amidst a contentious worker strike may not be the best time to promote your new electric vehicle battery plant, but here we are.
Stellantis and Samsung SDI announced plans yesterday to invest more than $3.2B in a joint venture for the construction of an EV battery plant in Kokomo, Indiana (which also happens to be the home of UAW President Shawn Fain).
According to the company, the plant will create more than 2800 new jobs and is slated to begin production as early as 2025.
Italian aluminum casting machine maker Idra, known for its long-time partnership supplying Tesla, has officially expanded its customer base to include Ford and (likely) Hyundai.
Tesla pioneered the use of the gigapress (a massive casting machine that creates large single-vehicle underbodies), which has become a proven time and cost-efficient method of production for a variety of EV body styles.
A 6,100-ton gigapress with Ford’s branding was tested at the Idra plant, while an even larger 9,000-ton press was tested without the client's name, but reportedly bound for Hyundai.