'The shift to electric cars means a fundamental transformation of what workers will do and how many are needed to do it.'
From the outside looking in, the talks between the United Auto Workers’ striking members and the management of General Motors look like normal disagreements over pay. In reality, they’re really about the future of cars in the U.S.
Electric cars have far fewer parts, which means far fewer people are needed to put them together. When one analyst took apart a Chevrolet Bolt and Volkswagen Golf, he found that the Golf had 125 more moving parts than its electric counterpart. What’s more, the electric vehicles’ parts are often easier to put in place using automated machines.
Take the year 2023, for example. The UAW and GM are negotiating a four-year contract that will expire then. Meanwhile, in Germany this week, the first hearings were held in a class-action lawsuit brought by 450,000 consumers in that country against its largest automaker, Volkswagen, over the diesel emissions scandal. Legal experts believe that the lawsuit, like the UAW’s contract, will also find its resolution in 2023.
Sales of EVs in China in 2018 were higher than the rest of the world combined, and the Chinese government has invested over $60 billion to shape an automotive industry fueled by electricity. In Europe, France and Germany recently announced a partnership to invest nearly $7 billion to develop EV batteries that solve the problem of limited range.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Main issues in UAW-GM labor talks narrow to wages, pensions: sourceAs the U.S. strike by the United Auto Workers union against General Motors Co ne...
Read more »
Main issues in UAW-GM labor talks narrow to wages, pensions, source saysAs the U.S. strike by the United Auto Workers union against General Motors nears three weeks, the main remaining issues in the negotiations have narrowed to wages and pensions, a person familiar with the talks said on Saturday.
Read more »
UAW-GM talks progress but wage, job security issues remainA top negotiator for the United Auto Workers says talks with General Motors have advanced, but issues such as wages, job security and pensions remain unsettled. Nearly 50,000 workers walked off the job in mid-September.
Read more »
GM, UAW Duel Over Temporary Workers, New-Hire WagesGeneral Motors and the striking United Auto Workers union are dueling over two main issues: how fast to move newer hires up to the top wage and how soon temporary workers should qualify for full employment.
Read more »
UAW sees 'good progress' on key issues to try to resolve GM strikeThe United Auto Workers union said on Friday it had made progress on some key is...
Read more »
UAW sees 'good progress' on key issues to try to resolve GM strikeThe United Auto Workers union said on Friday it had made progress on some key issues as it works to try to reach a contract with General Motors to resolve a nearly three-week-old strike that has idled 48,000 workers.
Read more »