Canadian builders monitor strike at GM in the United States

Canadian automakers say they are closely monitoring the labor dispute at General Motors in the United States; at the same time, the workers participated on Tuesday in a second day of strike.

In the United States, more than 49,000 unionized workers went on strike Monday as their bargaining stalled for a variety of reasons including wages, health care and job security. This is the first strike at the American manufacturer in more than 10 years.

According to analyst Dennis DesRosiers, integrated supply chains are likely to have some impact on some Canadian automakers, although the scale will depend largely on the duration of the strike.

"There are immediate repercussions on suppliers in Canada, the Magna of this world supply GM factories in the United States, and I suppose that yesterday they were given instructions to stop production and wait for the strike to be settled. . "

Scott Worden, a spokeswoman for Magna International, said in a statement that the parts manufacturer was in a wait-and-see mode and continued to monitor the situation, but declined to describe the impact of the conflict so far.

"Although Magna provides GM products to a number of global programs, it would be premature to comment on the potential impact on our business today," he said in an e-mail.

Other parts manufacturers, Linamar and Martinrea International, did not respond to requests for comments on the strike.

GM Canada spokeswoman Jennifer Wright said the company continues to monitor the situation and that its operations in Canada are continuing at all of its sites.

A spokesman for the United Auto Workers said on Tuesday that talks with the builder were continuing, but gave no details on the differences between the two sides.

Jonathon Azzopardi, president of the Canadian Mussel Manufacturers Association, said secondary suppliers would not feel the immediate impacts as much as direct parts suppliers, but were concerned about potential long-term effects.

"What concerns us is more the snowball potential," said Azzopardi.

He added that if the strike had a significant impact on profitability, it could mean a reduction in investment in new vehicle programs and platforms that are stimulating manufacturers, such as mold makers.

GM's American workers last disengaged for two days in 2007. Another strike in 1998 was a 54-day strike.

The current strike could be prolonged, because workers have a lot more weight thanks to the recent profitability of companies, compared to the difficulties encountered by the sector in 2007, said Azzopardi.

"That's why this strike could get ugly, because the last time we had this type of situation, leverage was heavily on the side of automakers, but not really this time around. "

He added that the strike was coming at a difficult time for the industry, as auto sales should slow down from their recent highs and the labor dispute will only make things worse.

"When we start having disrupters like this, it makes the situation all the more fragile. "

Mr. DesRosiers said he did not expect this strike to last very long.

"I think people will ultimately keep a cool head and the crisis will be relatively short. "

However, he added that if forecasters were right and auto sales continued to decline, next year's negotiations in Canada, between Unifor and GM, would be even more difficult than those underway in the United States.

Unifor President Jerry Dias said Monday that GM workers in Canada could go on strike next year because they feel "betrayed" by society.

GM will stop production at its Oshawa assembly plant later this year, resulting in the loss of 2,600 unionized jobs. The company plans to convert part of the facility into a parts assembly plant, which will save about 300 jobs.