MARION, Ind. — General Motors is furloughing 35 workers at the Marion Metal Center and placing the blame squarely on United Auto Workers’ ongoing strike against U.S. automakers General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Stellantis.
A General Motors statement stated that beginning on Monday, a portion of employees at both Marion Metal Center and Parma Metal Center in Ohio will be furloughed until after the strike has been resolved.
GM blamed the “negative ripple effects” of the UAW leadership’s decision to strike on GM Wentzville Assembly and GM Lansing Delta Township Assembly as the reason for the furloughs.
More than 700 people work at the Marion Metal Center with GM stating that 35 employees will be furloughed due to there being “no work available.” In Parma, Ohio, 130 employees face a similar furlough.
“At both plants, GM has worked to reduce this negative ripple effect from the strikes by temporarily shifting the impacted team members to other areas of the plant, but the upstream production impact from the strikes has reached a point where there is now no work available for these employees,” GM said in a statement.
GM said due to working under an expired labor agreement, there are no provisions for company-provided SUB-pay in these furloughs.
“We have said repeatedly that nobody wins in a strike, and this is yet another demonstration of that fact,” GM stated. “We will continue to bargain in good faith with the union to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.”
