The labor situation at Ford Motor is becoming increasingly critical, with Canadian union Unifor and the automaker having a limited amount of time to reach an agreement before a potential strike. The extended deadline for negotiations between Ford and Unifor is set for 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, and if an agreement is not reached, it could disrupt production and potentially affect the US supply of pickup trucks.
A strike by Unifor in Canada would impact Ford’s Oakville Assembly Plant, which produces Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus crossovers, as well as two engine plants that manufacture V8 engines used in Ford’s highly profitable products, including the F-Series pickups and the Mustang.
If a prolonged Canadian strike occurs, it could eventually affect US production of vehicles, depending on Ford’s engine stock and production capabilities. The impact would depend on whether Ford would want to focus on non-V8 gasoline engine models and increase production of other engine types, such as four-cylinder, V6, and diesel engines.
Gasoline V8 models make up a significant portion of Mustang and F-150 sales in the US, but the majority of large F-Series trucks sold have diesel V8 engines, which are produced in Mexico, not Canada.
Unifor, representing 18,000 Canadian autoworkers, has taken a more traditional approach to negotiations compared to its US counterpart, the United Auto Workers (UAW). While Unifor selected Ford as its “target” company and announced a national strike if needed, the UAW pursued a strategy of bargaining with all three Detroit automakers and initiated targeted strikes against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
The labor situation at Ford is adding pressure to the automaker’s operations at a time when the UAW has also called for targeted strikes against all three Detroit automakers. If Unifor strikes and the UAW expands its strikes, it could impact the production of vehicles, particularly pickup trucks, which are highly profitable for automakers.
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