After announcing a surprise walkout of (F) -) Ford's highly profitable Kentucky Truck Plant last week, the United Auto Workers union said Friday that it is changing its strategy in its fight against the Detroit Three. Union president Shawn Fain said that the UAW would no longer wait to announce stand-up strikes every Friday.
Union leadership, he said, is "prepared at anytime to call on more locals to stand up and walk out."
Related: Former Ford CEO has a blunt warning for UAW union strikers
This latest escalation, which analysts predicted would lose Ford around $150 million a week, marks a turning point in the weeks-long, ever-expanding set of rolling strikes against Ford, General Motors (GM) -) and Stellantis (STLA) -).
Automakers have countered union demands with what they have called record contracts, with Ford's latest offer detailing 23%-26% wage increases, cost of living adjustments and other benefits. While the union remains determined to get more cash on the table, Ford said last week that it is "at the limit" of what it can offer union members.
With the company hurting from the shutdown of its Kentucky Truck Plant, Bill Ford, the company's executive chairman and Henry Ford's great-grandson, addressed the strikes Monday morning, urging the union to end the conflict.
"The UAW leaders have called us the enemy in these negotiations, but I will never consider our employees as enemies. This should not be Ford versus the UAW," Ford said. "It should be Ford and the UAW versus Toyota, Honda, Tesla (TSLA) -) and all the Chinese companies that want to enter our home market."
As the strikes drag on, these non-union competitors, Ford said, "will win and all of us will lose."
It is a sentiment that analysts and investors have been discussing since the strikes began in mid-September. If the strikes end with the Detroit Three having to pay significantly more in labor costs, their margins, specifically as they relate to the uphill climb toward electric vehicle profitability, will take the kind of beating that will allow Tesla to maintain its EV dominance.
Related: Top analysts explain the real winner of historic UAW strikes (it's not the workers)
The American economy, Ford said, will be heavily impacted if the strikes don't stop soon. The shutdown of the Kentucky Truck plant, he said, has already harmed tens of thousands of people, including suppliers and dealers in local communities.
"It doesn't have to go that way," he said. "We can stop this now. We need to come together to bring an end to this acrimonious round of talks. Let's come together, reach an agreement so that we can take the fight to the real competition."
The UAW did not immediately respond to TheStreet's request for comment.
"We've always recognized that we're all Ford and we will succeed or fail together," Ford said.
Shares of Ford, shaky throughout the month, lifted slightly following the speech.
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