American Axle UAW labor talks near deadline
By Kevin Krolicki
DETROIT (Reuters) - American Axle %26amp; Manufacturing Holdings Inc (AXL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and the United Auto Workers face a final day of contract talks on Monday before the midnight expiration of the union’s current contract with the parts maker, a major supplier to General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
Negotiators for the auto supplier and the union met on Saturday and Sunday. Both sides declined to comment on the talks, aimed at reaching a labor deal for more than 3,000 UAW-represented workers in Michigan and New York.
With the possibility of a strike or work stoppage looming, American Axle has stockpiled parts for GM, which remains the supplier’s largest customer and accounts for the majority of its sales, a person familiar with the matter said.
A prolonged UAW strike against American Axle could disrupt production of GM trucks and sport utility vehicles, analysts have said.
Lehman Brothers analyst Brian Johnson said he expected American Axle to emerge with a contract that would save $200 million annually by slashing wage rates by almost a third.
Johnson said unless the UAW agreed to sweeping wage reductions, American Axle could threaten to close its Detroit plant and ship the work on a next-generation axle for GM trucks and SUVs to a factory in Mexico. “We expect significant concessions,” he said in note for clients.
The UAW called brief strikes against GM and Chrysler LLC last year in a historic round of contract talks with the Detroit-based automakers that resulted in deals to sharply cut their labor costs as they attempt to return to profitability.
The union has also negotiated buyouts and early retirements with the automakers intended as a way to move higher-paid workers out of those jobs, while protecting their pension and retiree health care in most cases. Continued…
Tags: american axle, Auto, automaker, automakers, Chrysler, general motors corp, gm, lehman brothers, lehman brothers analyst, reuters, s sales, saturday and sunday, sport utility vehicle, sport utility vehicles, united auto workers
