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☆ G.M. Reports Big Jump in Profit on Gasoline Car Sales
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

General Motors on Tuesday reported a big jump in profits for the first three months of the year, based on the strength of its gasoline vehicle business, and raised its outlook for the rest of the year. The company saw slow growth in electric vehicles, but robust sales of internal combustion vehicles, especially pickup trucks, helped raise its profit to $3 billion in the first quarter, a 24 percent jump from the same period a year ago. also said that it now expects to make $10.1 billion to $11.5 billion in profit this year, up from a previous forecast of $9.8 billion to $11.2 billion. business and improving profitability,” G.M.’s chief financial officer, Paul Jacobson, said in a conference call with reporters, using the shorthand for internal combustion engine. He repeated an earlier forecast that G.M.’s battery-powered cars and trucks would start generating profits in the second half of this year.

Persons: ’, Paul Jacobson, Jacobson, G.M Organizations: Motors

☆ VW Workers in Tennessee Vote for Union, a Labor Milestone
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a landmark victory for organized labor, workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee have voted overwhelmingly to join the United Automobile Workers union, becoming the first nonunion auto plant in a Southern state to do so. In a statement late Friday, the company said that the union had won 2,628 votes, with 985 opposed, in a three-day election. to organize the Chattanooga factory over the last 10 years were narrowly defeated. The outcome is a breakthrough for the labor movement in a region where anti-union sentiment has been strong for decades. won record wage gains and improved benefits in negotiations with the Detroit automakers.

Organizations: Volkswagen, United Automobile Workers, Detroit automakers, General Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler, Jeep Locations: Tennessee, Southern, Chattanooga

☆ VW Workers in Tennessee Start Vote on U.A.W., Testing Union Ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last fall the United Automobile Workers union won big pay increases from the Detroit automakers, and the impact rippled quickly through the nonunion auto plants scattered across the South. On production lines in Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and elsewhere, those pay increases have been referred to as the “U.A.W. bump.”Now 4,300 workers at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., will test whether the union can achieve an even greater bump. On Wednesday, they begin voting on whether to join the U.A.W., and the prospects of a union victory appear high. About 70 percent of the workers pledged to vote yes before the union asked for a vote, according to the U.A.W.

Persons: Tesla, “, ”, Kelcey Smith Organizations: United Automobile Workers, Detroit automakers, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Nissan, Hyundai, VW Locations: United States, Alabama , Tennessee , Kentucky, Chattanooga , Tenn

☆ Ford Slows Its Push Into Electric Vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ford Motor on Thursday delayed the production of at least two new electric cars and said it would pivot to making more hybrids. Its decision was the latest sign that large automakers have been forced to rethink their strategy for electric vehicles because sales for those models are slowing. The shift by Ford and automakers like General Motors and Mercedes-Benz, which have also pushed back their electric car plans, has been prompted largely by the companies’ difficulties in making and selling enough electric cars and doing so profitably. Because they are still learning how to make the cars and their batteries at lower cost, the companies have not been able to bring out more affordable models. “That’s made it a lot tougher to sell those vehicles.”

Persons: ” Sam Abuelsamid, “ That’s Organizations: Ford, General Motors, Mercedes, Benz

☆ Auto Industry Expects Minimal Disruption From Port Shutdown
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Concerns about the impact of the Baltimore bridge collapse on auto imports and exports are beginning to ease as car companies turn to other ports along the East Coast. On Thursday, Cox Automotive, a market researcher, said it expected the situation in Baltimore to have no material impact on vehicle sales in the United States. “While Baltimore is the top port for auto shipments, this is not likely to cause or create a sudden new problem in vehicle supply that will materially impact the market,” Jonathan Smoke, Cox’s chief economist, said in a conference call. “The port is heavy for exports and imports, but there are alternatives.”Mercedes-Benz said it has already found other ways of handling the vehicles it usually imports from Germany through Baltimore.

Persons: Jonathan Smoke, ” Mercedes, Benz Organizations: Cox Automotive Locations: Baltimore, East Coast, United States, Germany

☆ Automakers Are Rerouting Car Shipments Away From Baltimore
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Several large automakers said on Tuesday that they were working to reroute shipments of cars because of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The Port of Baltimore plays an important role in the shipment of vehicles and handled more than 750,000 cars and trucks in 2023, according to the Maryland Port Administration. Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. transportation secretary, said that the rerouting would affect the national supply chain. “It will not be quick, and it will not be inexpensive.”Among the automakers that use the port are General Motors, Ford Motor, Stellantis, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Some automakers said they were planning to divert imports and exports of vehicles to other East Coast ports while they assessed how the collapse would affect their logistics.

Persons: Francis Scott Key, Wes Moore, Pete Buttigieg Organizations: Maryland Port Administration, Gov, General Motors, Ford Motor, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Benz, BMW Locations: Baltimore, The Port, United States, Maryland, U.S, East Coast

☆ VW Workers Seek Union Vote at Tennessee Plant for Third Time
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-18 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Volkswagen employees in Tennessee who are hoping to join the United Automobile Workers asked a federal agency on Monday to hold an election, a key step toward the union’s longtime goal of organizing nonunion factories across the South. With the union’s backing, Volkswagen workers filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board asking for a vote on U.A.W. representation, saying that more than 70 percent of the 4,000 eligible workers at the plant had signed cards supporting the union. “Today, we are one step closer to making a good job at Volkswagen into a great career,” Isaac Meadows, an assembly worker at the plant, said in a statement. If held, an election would be the first test of the U.A.W.’s newfound strength after staging a wave of strikes in the fall against the three Detroit automakers — General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis — and winning record wage increases.

Persons: ” Isaac Meadows, ’, — Organizations: United Automobile Workers, Volkswagen, National Labor Relations Board, “, Detroit, —, Motors, Ford Motor Locations: Tennessee

☆ Toyota’s Hybrid-First Strategy Is Delivering Big Profits
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In today’s high-tech, high-stakes auto industry, fortunes can change quickly, and there’s no better example of that right now than Toyota Motor. Not long ago, it looked as if Toyota had fallen dangerously behind in electric vehicles. Tesla, the electric car pioneer, has grown rapidly and become the world’s most valuable automaker. Toyota, however, was more deliberate — or lethargic, its critics would say. Amid all the enthusiasm for electric vehicles in the last few years, it seemed Toyota just didn’t get it.

Organizations: Toyota, Motors, Ford Motor Locations: United States

☆ How Ford’s F-150 Lightning, Once in Hot Demand, Lost Its Luster
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In July Michael Puglia drove home with what seemed like the coolest vehicle he’d ever own — a Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. It was big enough to haul around his children and all their hockey gear. Once, after Mr. Puglia had driven 35 miles to an ice rink, his range fell by 73 miles. Another time, a 60-mile jaunt reduced his range by 110 miles. Several trips to the dealership for software updates didn’t fix the problem, leaving Mr. Puglia wondering whether he should keep the $79,000 truck.

Persons: Michael Puglia, He’d, ” Locations: Puglia, Ann Arbor, Mich

☆ Ford Reports Quarterly Loss but Says Sales Grew
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Ford Motor said it lost $526 million in the final three months of 2023, mainly as a result of special charges related to its employee pension programs and the reorganization of some of its overseas operations. The automaker said its fourth-quarter revenue rose to $46 billion, from $44 billion a year earlier, thanks to strong sales of internal-combustion vehicles and light commercial trucks. The division of the company that makes gasoline and hybrid vehicles earned $813 million before interest and taxes in the fourth quarter, and its commercial vehicle division made $1.8 billion. The unit that makes electric vehicles lost $1.6 billion. Looking ahead, Ford said it expected to make between $10 billion and $12 billion in adjusted earnings before taxes and interest this year.

Persons: Ford Organizations: Ford Motor

☆ G.M. Profits Hurt by Unsold Electric Vehicles and Strike
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

has also struggled to produce such vehicles in large numbers because of manufacturing problems with a new battery technology the company calls Ultium. has also pared its electric vehicle ambitions. expected to produce 400,000 electric vehicles by the middle of 2024, but consumers have not flocked to battery-powered cars as fast as auto executives expected. sold more than 19,000 electric vehicles, but most were Bolts, which are no longer being produced and used an older battery technology. Only about a third of the electric vehicles that were sold used the newer battery packs produced at a factory in Ohio that G.M.

Persons: Ultium, G.M Organizations: Ford Motor, Chevy, LG Locations: Ohio

☆ U.A.W. Announces Drive to Organize Nonunion Plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United Automobile Workers union announced Wednesday that it was undertaking an ambitious drive to organize plants owned by more than a dozen nonunion automakers, including Tesla and several foreign companies — a goal that has long eluded it. The move comes weeks after the U.A.W. In addition to Tesla, the targets of the drive are two other electric vehicle start-ups, Lucid and Rivian, and 10 foreign-owned automakers: Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Volkswagen, Mazda and Volvo. If the U.A.W. secures a foothold among those companies, it could signal a big shift in the American auto industry, where nonunion manufacturers have long had a significant cost advantage over the Detroit automakers.

Persons: Tesla Organizations: United Automobile Workers, General Motors, Ford Motor, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes, Benz, Subaru, Volkswagen, Mazda, Volvo, Detroit

General Motors is slowing the expansion of its Cruise automated driving division and significantly cutting spending at the unit after suspending operations in response to growing safety concerns about its driverless cars. The company had been planning to roll out a ride service in San Francisco and three other cities and begin testing Cruise vehicles on the streets of several other markets. It now plans to focus on only one city as it works to improve the operation of its fleet of driverless vehicles it has been testing. “We expect the pace of Cruise’s expansion to be more deliberate when operations resume, resulting in substantially lower spending in 2024 than in 2023,” G.M.’s chief executive, Mary T. Barra, said Wednesday at an investor conference. “We must rebuild trust with regulators at the local, state and federal levels, as well as with the first responders and the communities in which Cruise will operate.”Last month, California regulators suspended Cruise’s license to operate in the state after an incident in which a Cruise self-driving vehicle in San Francisco ran over a pedestrian who had been hit by another car and dragged her for 20 feet.

Persons: ”, ’, Mary T, Barra Organizations: Motors, Cruise Locations: San Francisco, California

☆ G.M.’s Contract Deal With U.A.W. Faces Surprisingly Stiff Opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A United Automobile Workers union vote on a tentative contract agreement with General Motors that provides record wage increases has run into unexpectedly strong resistance from veteran workers. A majority of workers at several large plants in Michigan, Indiana and Tennessee rejected the contract, though union members at a large sport utility plant in Arlington, Texas, voted in favor of it. G.M., Ford Motor and Stellantis agreed to similar contracts with the union after U.A.W. Workers walked off the job at the first three plants on Sept. 15 and stayed on strike for more than 40 days. The agreement appears to be headed for ratification at Ford and Stellantis, the maker of Chrysler, Jeep and Ram vehicles, by comfortable margins, according to running tallies the U.A.W.

Organizations: United Automobile Workers, General Motors, Ford Motor, Workers, Ford, Chrysler, Jeep Locations: Michigan , Indiana, Tennessee, Arlington , Texas

Mr. Biden made history with his visit when he became the first president to appear on a picket line to support the striking workers. When word came down that the union had struck a deal with the automakers, Mr. Biden stepped away during a state dinner welcoming the Australian prime minister and called the U.A.W. “The union situation is a win for Biden,” said Barry Rabe, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. Mr. Fain has yet to give Mr. Biden the U.A.W.’s endorsement, but he has also outlined ambitious goals that would be much harder to achieve if Mr. Trump returned to the White House. And while Mr. Biden visited picketing workers and voiced support for their strike, Mr. Trump visited a nonunion plant in Michigan and said union members “were being sold down the river by their leadership.”

Persons: Biden, Trump, Shawn Fain, “, ”, Barry Rabe, Fain, ’, Trump’s Organizations: Democratic, Biden, University of Michigan, National Labor Relations Board Locations: autoworkers, Michigan

Before autoworkers went on strike in September, Dave and Bailey Hodge were struggling to juggle the demands of working at a Ford Motor plant in Michigan and raising their young family. Both were working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, to earn enough to cover monthly bills, car payments and the mortgage on a home they had recently bought. They were also saving for the things they hoped life would eventually bring — vacations, college for their two children and retirement. Some days, she’d see her 8-year-old son off to school in the morning. She’d fall asleep with her 14-month-old daughter lying between her and Dave.

Persons: autoworkers, Dave, Bailey Hodge, “, ” Ms, Hodge, she’d, She’d Organizations: Ford Locations: Michigan

Listen and follow The DailyApple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicA wave of strikes that has paralyzed the auto industry came to an end on Monday, when the last of the three big car manufacturers, General Motors, reached a deal with the United Automobile Workers union. Neal E. Boudette, who covers the auto industry for The Times, discusses the historic deal and why it was such a big win for workers.

Persons: Neal E, Boudette Organizations: Spotify, General Motors, United Automobile Workers, The Times

☆ G.M. Said to Reach Tentative Deal With U.A.W.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The agreement comes days after the union announced tentative agreements with Ford Motor and Stellantis on new contracts. The three deals contain many of the same or similar terms, including a 25 percent general wage increase for U.A.W. The tentative agreement with G.M., the largest U.S. car company by sales, requires approval by a union council that oversees negotiations with the company, and then ratification by a majority of its 46,000 U.A.W. The most recent escalation of the strike came on Saturday, shortly after the union reached a deal with Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Jeep and Ram. told workers to go on strike at G.M.’s plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., that makes several sport utility vehicle models.

Persons: Ram Organizations: Motors, United Automobile Workers, U.S, automakers, Ford Motor, G.M, Stellantis, Chrysler, Jeep Locations: U.S, Missouri , Michigan , Tennessee, Texas, G.M, Spring Hill, Tenn

☆ U.A.W. Says It Aims to Organize Nonunion Auto Plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After winning major gains in wages and benefits from two of the three Detroit automakers, the United Automobile Workers union is looking beyond the Motor City to car companies operating nonunion factories across the South. president, Shawn Fain, said the union planned a push to organize plants at some of the nonunion automakers, such as Toyota, Honda and Tesla. “One of our biggest goals coming out of this historic contract victory is to organize like we’ve never organized before,” Mr. Fain said. It will be the Big Five or Big Six.”The statement was one of Mr. Fain’s clearest to date that the U.A.W. intended to renew efforts to unionize the plants of foreign-owned automakers and Tesla, which operates nonunion vehicle plants in California and Texas.

Persons: Shawn Fain, ” Mr, Fain Organizations: Detroit automakers, United Automobile Workers, Facebook, Toyota, Honda, Tesla Locations: Motor City, California, Texas

☆ U.A.W. Reaches Tentative Deal With Stellantis, Following Ford
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The United Automobile Workers union reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Jeep and Ram, on Saturday, a person familiar with the matter said on Saturday. The agreement comes three days after the union and Ford Motor announced a tentative agreement on a new contract. The two deals contain many of the same or similar terms, including a 25 percent general wage increase for U.A.W. The tentative agreement with Stellantis will require approval by a union council that oversees negotiations with the company, and then ratification by U.A.W. The deal with Stellantis means that only General Motors has not yet reached an agreement with the U.A.W.

Persons: U.A.W Organizations: United Automobile Workers, Stellantis, Chrysler, Jeep, Ford Motor, Motors

When autoworkers went on strike in September, executives of the large U.S. automakers warned that union demands could significantly undermine their ability to compete in a fast-changing industry. The chief executive of Ford Motor said that the company might have to scrap its investment in electric vehicles. Ford’s cost will rise under the terms of the new contract, which includes a 25 percent raise over four and a half years, improved retirement benefits and other provisions. But analysts said those increases should be manageable. If anything, he said, the deal will help Ford, in part because the four-year contract ensures there will be no labor strife during an intense phase of the transition to electric vehicles.

Persons: autoworkers, Ram, ”, Joshua Murray, Ford Organizations: Ford Motor, Ford, United Automobile Workers, General Motors, Chrysler, Vanderbilt University

Altogether, about 45,000 workers at Ford, G.M. and Stellantis are on strike across the country, including 8,700 workers at Ford’s Kentucky truck plant in Louisville, the company’s largest, and almost 10,000 others at Ford factories in Illinois and Michigan. The tentative deal with Ford could increase pressure on the other companies to reach an agreement with the union. In the past, once the union reached a deal with one automaker, tentative agreements with the others quickly followed. Last week, Ford’s executive chairman, William C. Ford Jr., said the union’s demands risked damaging the ability of Detroit automakers to compete against nonunion companies like Tesla and foreign rivals.

Persons: Shawn Fain, William C, Ford Jr, ”, “ Organizations: Ford, Detroit automakers, Toyota, Honda Locations: Ford’s Kentucky, Louisville, Illinois, Michigan

☆ G.M. Profit Down 7% in Strike-Affected Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

said the strike had lowered its earnings before interest and taxes by about $200 million in the final weeks of the third quarter, and by about $600 million since the fourth quarter started on Oct. 1. The automaker also estimated that the strike could cost it $200 million a week going forward. gave the union a contract offer that included a 23 percent increase in wages over four years. wage from $32 an hour to more than $40. At that wage, an employee working 40 hours a week would earn about $84,000 a year, not including extra pay for overtime or profit-sharing bonuses, which have topped $10,000 in the past two years.

Persons: Motors, “, ’, Paul Jacobson, G.M Organizations: United Automobile Workers

☆ U.A.W. Expands Strike to a Ram Plant in Michigan
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a major escalation of its six-week strike at the three large U.S. automakers, the United Automobile Workers union on Monday told 6,800 workers at a large Ram pickup truck plant in Michigan to walk off the job. Union workers at the plant, which is owned by Stellantis, the parent of Ram, Chrysler and Jeep, in Sterling Heights, Mich., joined the strike on Monday morning. The walkout at the Ram plant is the first escalation in the strikes since the U.A.W. called 8,700 workers to leave their jobs at Ford Motor’s largest plant, in Louisville, Ky., on Oct. 11. That plant produces the Super Duty version of the company’s popular F-150 truck and the Ford Expedition, a full-size sport-utility vehicle.

Persons: Ram, “ Stellantis Organizations: U.S, United Automobile Workers, Stellantis, Chrysler, Jeep, Ford, Ford Expedition Locations: Michigan, Sterling Heights, Mich, United States, Ford Motor’s, Louisville, Ky

☆ For Bill Ford, ‘Every Negotiation Is a Roller Coaster’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Neal E. Boudette | More About Neal E. Boudette | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As a 25-year-old junior executive at the car company that bears his last name, William Clay Ford Jr. had a bracing introduction to labor negotiations when a union official demanded that he stand up and vouch that he was made of the same stuff as his great-grandfather Henry Ford. Mr. Ford, now the company’s executive chairman, harked back to the moment in an interview this week about how he and his company are navigating one of their most difficult labor negotiations in decades. The United Automobile Workers union has shut down three Ford plants, including its largest, and other plants and distribution centers at General Motors and Stellantis, which owns Chrysler. He has referred to the companies as “the enemy,” and has said the union is fighting “corporate greed” and standing up to the “billionaire class.”In a speech this week, Mr. Ford said the strikes were helping nonunion automakers like Tesla, Toyota and Honda. Mr. Fain responded that workers at those companies were future U.A.W.

Persons: William Clay Ford Jr, Henry Ford, Ford, harked, Shawn Fain, Fain Organizations: United Automobile Workers, General Motors, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda

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