Dan Ives has made a name for himself on Wall Street covering the latest and greatest tech companies and trends, but amid the rise of electric vehicles and self-driving technology, he’s also begun to focus on the auto sector. While sky-high car prices have led profits to surge at many automakers in 2023, Ives thinks a worker strike could cripple the progress of some of the industry’s giants, and he’s not mincing words. “Let’s be clear: This is a potential nightmare situation for GM and Ford,” he wrote in a Wednesday note.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union is pushing for a new contract that includes a 46% pay raise, a 32-hour week, the restoration of traditional pensions, and more. And if its demands aren’t met, union members plan to strike. In fact, some 97% of the 146,000 UAW union members at Ford, GM, and Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) have voted to walk out if they can’t agree to a new contract with their employers by Sept. 14.
