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The ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against three major US automakers has led to the layoffs of hundreds of additional employees.

According to insiders within Ford Motors Inc. and General Motors (GM), both companies have furloughed 494 workers across their Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana factories. This decision mirrors Stellantis’s earlier move to layoff approximately 370 employees at its Ohio and Indiana plants, attributed to its US brand Chrysler.

Just a month ago, both GM and Ford had to lay off 2,600 workers in different locations due to a parts shortage directly linked to the strike.

Amid this backdrop, UAW President Shawn Fain recently announced the union’s intent to escalate its strike actions to include a Ford plant in Chicago and a GM plant in Lansing, Michigan. Fain stated, “Despite our willingness to bargain, Ford and GM have refused to make meaningful progress at the table.” He confirmed the mobilization of 7,000 union members from these plants, pushing the number of striking autoworkers to 25,000.

The UAW strike, initiated last month, aims at securing higher wages, shorter work weeks, union representation for battery plant employees, and improved retirement benefits, including pensions for new hires.