The United Auto Workers (UAW) union is stressing the inclusion of battery plant workers in their negotiations with the Big Three automakers. As per a Wall Street Journal report, General Motors (NYSE:GM), Ford (NYSE:F), and Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) are under pressure to include their future battery plants under the new four-year contract talks with the UAW.
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The car makers are planning to build massive battery manufacturing plants in the future, with some of them already underway. According to reports, the Big Three are investing a total of $20 billion in electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing initiatives. These plants are expected to create thousands of jobs in the future, and some of them could also go live during the upcoming four-year contract term.
General Motors Agrees on Inclusion
GM has specifically agreed to include the workers from future battery plants in its new labor contracts. However, there is no clarity on the terms of wages and benefits for these workers. The issue with including battery plants is that most of them are joint ventures with other Asian battery manufacturers. Ford recently announced that it halted the construction of a battery plant in Michigan owing to political concerns. The $3.5 billion plant was poised to make lower-cost EV batteries with the help of Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL).
The strike has entered its fourth week with 25,000 workers on strike at five plants and several parts-distribution centers, and yet, no remedy seems to be in sight. The UAW has confirmed that it will not extend strikes to other plants for the time being.
With GM already agreeing to include future battery plant workers in the new labor deal, it wouldn’t be long before the other two automakers approve the same. The upcoming earnings season could shed some more light on the actual financial impacts that the ongoing strikes are expected to have on their performance.
Which is Better, F or GM?
As per the TipRanks Stock Forecast and Price Target tool, General Motors currently has a higher upside potential (61.4%) than its average price target. Moreover, the UAW is holding better and more amicable negotiations with GM than the other two automakers. This means that for GM, the possibility of ending the strike could be sooner. However, out of the Big Three, Stellantis stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating and even wins the TipRanks Smart Score of 9 (outperforming expectations).
