Dive Brief:
- Almost 30% of automotive suppliers laid off employees because of the United Auto Workers strike as of Sept. 29, according to a survey by MEMA, the Vehicle Suppliers Association, released Tuesday.
- More than 60% of suppliers plan to lay off workers by mid-October, and 70% worry about their sub-suppliers' finances.
- Over half of idled suppliers surveyed said they will need at least one week to ramp up production to pre-strike levels, the survey says.
Dive Insight:
Automotive suppliers employ more than 900,000 workers, according to MEMA. That’s over six times the number of United Auto Workers members — more than 146,000 — employed by General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis.
According to the Washington Post, the Big Three automakers have furloughed about 4,000 nonstriking employees since the UAW strike began Sept. 15. Suppliers, meanwhile, have laid off about 3,000 workers, the Washington Post reported.
“The output of these suppliers, often Tier 2 or lower, is critical to the ongoing viability of the entire supply chain,” MEMA said in a statement.
The organization said it’s working with the White House to develop a financial assistance plan for suppliers with less than $200 million in revenue to keep them afloat.
MEMA asked 500 original equipment suppliers to participate in the survey via email last week and received 80 responses, a MEMA spokesperson said in an email. The organization surveyed them again this week and plans to continue the survey weekly, the spokesperson said. MEMA did not say when it will publish the next survey results.
