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Suppliers & UAW
Turbos Fuel New BorgWarner Growth
By Danny King November 9, 2011BorgWarner Inc., the world's largest producer of automatic transmissions, said the amount of new business it will receive for its transmissions and drivetrain components for the next three years will be 9 percent more than its new business during the last three years as the Chinese automobile market grows and more automakers look to meet progressively tougher greenhouse-gas emissions standards in Europe. The Auburn Hills, Mich., company said in a statement Tuesday that its new business for 2012 through 2014 will total about $2.5 billion as it sells more turbochargers, dual-clutch transmissions, engine-timing systems and other emissions products. Morgan more
Continental To Turbocharge Ford Focus
By John O'Dell October 14, 2011Global automotive components developer Continental Corp. is launching new turbocharger business and said Friday it will be supplying Ford Motor Co. with turbos for the automaker’s new line of three-cylinder engines. The use of smaller engines with power-boosting turbochargers has become a key ingredient in automakers’ push to cut costs and improve fuel efficiency while continuing to deliver the performance characteristics car buyers demand. Continental, which began developing its turbocharger in 2006, said it expects to see 25-percent annual growth in the market. The German components supplier is entering a market dominated by companies such as Honeywell, BorgWarner and more
Chrysler And UAW Reach Tentative 4-Year Contract
By Bill Visnic October 12, 2011Chrysler Group LLC announced today that the company reached a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers union on a new 4-year labor agreement. Chrysler is the last of the Detroit Three automakers to reach a tentative pact with the UAW; General Motors Co.’s contract has been ratified, while Ford’s tentative agreement is currently with its rank-and-file workers for ratification, with the final results of the nationwide voting expected today. Chrysler did not disclose terms of the tentative new 4-year contract, which requires ratification by its 26,000 hourly employees. more
Ford, UAW Tentative Pact Means 12,000 Jobs
By Michelle Krebs October 4, 2011Ford and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reached a tentative national contract in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Ford executives said the contract, if approved by the rank and file in the coming weeks, would create or save 12,000 U.S. jobs and would include $16 billion in investment in new products and additional plant capacity. But at the same time, it would keep Ford, which has the highest hourly labor costs among the Detroit Three, to be more competitive. “We are pleased with this new contract,” said John Fleming, Ford executive vice president in charge of Global more
GM, UAW Agree On New Labor Contract
By Bill Visnic September 28, 2011General Motors Co. today became the first of the Detroit Three automakers to agree on a new four-year labor contract with the United Auto Workers union, announcing in Detroit today a pact that, overall, increases GM’s labor costs about 1 percent. As expected, the UAW garners the commitment of more jobs in GM’s U.S. factories, an increase in the starting wage for newly hired workers and a more-generous profit-sharing formula in addition to a $5,000 signing bonus for each of GM’s approximately 48,500 UAW workers. The new contract was ratified by UAW workers by a roughly 2-to-1 margin. more
UAW Contract Paves Way For New Cars, Trucks
By Michelle Krebs September 28, 2011The United Auto Workers' (UAW) new contract with General Motors Co., ratified Wednesday, and ones being negotiated between the union with Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group LLC will be wins for the consumer in the form of new vehicle models built in the home market. Already, the new four-year contract that the union negotiated with GM and won approval by a wide margin of the rank-and-file makes it possible for a new line of cars and new line of trucks to be built in the United States. Ford and Chrysler undoubtedly will announce commitments for new models more
Report Exposes Shaky UAW Finances
By Bill Visnic September 23, 2011An investigative report published Thursday by the Reuters news service reveals the United Auto Workers (UAW) union – in the news daily as it negotiates new four-year labor agreements with the Detroit Three automakers – has for years been dealing with an internal financial crisis that threatens the existence of America’s richest labor union if not reversed. The report said the UAW has for some years been relying on savings to fund its ongoing operations and has since 2007 taken large drawdowns from its assets to finance ongoing operational and organizing efforts. more
GM-UAW Contract Boosts Jobs, Bonuses
By Michelle Krebs September 20, 2011The United Auto Workers (UAW) union’s tentative contract with General Motors includes new jobs, a signing bonus for members, enhanced profit sharing and a boost in pay for entry-level workers, union officials said Tuesday. The contract now goes to GM’s 48,500 UAW members for a vote. At the same time, contract talks at Chrysler and Ford are gearing up. UAW President Bob King (below, left) said the contract could add as much as $20,000 in compensation to union members’ wallets over the course of the four-year deal, depending on GM’s level of profits. This despite the fact that the more
Navistar Says Mexico Violence Could Cause Pullout
By AutoObserver Staff September 9, 2011Concerned about continuing levels of organized crime and drug-related violence in Mexico, Navistar International, manufacturer of on-highway trucks and buses as well as diesel engines, suggested it could abandon production facilities in the nation because of worries about political stability. Dan Ulstan, Navistar’s CEO, said in a conference call that the violence in the northern Monterray area, where Navistar has a longstanding truck and bus assembly plant, has been “unsettling,” and added, “we have the ability to move production around.” Automakers from around the world have significant production and component-making operations in Mexico and industry watchers have speculated as more