The United Auto Workers began work stoppages at General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis on September 14, after the union’s labor contracts expired without an agreement in place. The walkout marks the first time UAW members will strike at all three of Detroit’s Big Three automakers at once. In anticipation of the strike, Ron Leibman, the head of McCarter’s Transportation, Logistics & Supply Chain Management practice warned “the economic fallout long-term would be a problem. To be honest, the strike is not good for anybody.” Leibman said that the domestic Big Three automakers are not always priced competitively. “The further we do anything that could affect efficiency and increase cost could make the companies less competitive.” He added, “My great fear is these stand-up strikes. They can say, ‘I’m striking here tomorrow, and I’m striking there on Tuesday.’ How do you plan for that, particularly in an industry that runs highly scheduled and on a ‘just in time’ time frame?”
Leibman describes the stand-up strikes as “a nightmare for pipeline supply-chain planners, both at the suppliers and at the automakers.”