The potential impact is difficult to quantify, as it all depends on how long the strike lasts and how many more workers strike.
A full-fledged 10-day strike against the Big Three could carry economic costs topping $5 billion, the Anderson Economic Group estimated in an August report.
A monthslong work stoppage could also eat into the auto giants’ liquidity, especially if more workers strike, Fitch Ratings warned Friday.
UAW President Shawn Fain called up nearly 13,000 workers to strike at three plants — one from each of the Big Three — to strike last Friday after union negotiations failed.
“We expect the initial financial impact of this first round of strikes to be limited, since the UAW is only striking one plant each at Ford, GM and Stellantis,” Stephen Brown, senior director at Fitch Ratings, said in a written statement.
During a Facebook Live event hours before the contract deadline, Fain warned the union won’t rule out an all-out strike.
Some automakers and suppliers are already laying off workers, and thousands more UAW members are bracing to make just $500 per week on the picket line.
The UAW has amassed an $825 million strike fund. The union has said it would extend stipends to workers laid off because of the strikes.
“The first impact of a strike will be felt in auto worker homes and communities, who will see a drop in revenues, as strikers shift to spending less,” Juscelino Filgueiras Colares, a business law professor at Case Western Reserve University, told The Hill in an email.
The Hill’s Taylor Giorno has more here.
