GM and the United Auto Workers recessed talks on the Flint stamping plant for the day about 4 p.m. Thursday. In a memo to clients Thursday, analyst Jack Kirnan of Salomon Smith Barney said the effect of a combined strike could be greater than that of a 1996 strike at two Dayton, Ohio, brake plants because GM's vehicle inventories are leaner. The stamping plant strike has halted or slowed production at assembly plants in Michigan, Kansas, Ohio, New Jersey, Missouri and Ontario, Canada. On Thursday, GM partially halted production and idled 1,800 workers at its Wentzville, Mo., plant, which makes full-size Chevrolet and GMC vans. Production also was slowed at 16 GM parts plants, most in the Midwest.
Jobs are the primary issue in both negotiations.
The UAW fears GM may transfer work out of the plants or close them eventually. GM indicated Wednesday that it is considering moving production of its next generation of small cars to a low-wage country from its big Lordstown, Ohio, plant. The announcement, not coincidentally, came one day after the leak of a memo outlining GM's plans to double production in Mexico over the next decade. UAW officials declined to comment on the reports. E.W. Scripps Publications , All Rights Reserved.