American Axle Gets 2-Tiered Pay Plan In Tentative Deal
The UAW’s quick settlement Friday morning of the one-day strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. in Detroit finds the union again authorizing a concept it once loathed — a two-tier wage structure that ensures future employees never make as much as current ones.
American Axle Strike Causes GM to Idle Plant
In a move that already is rippling through the auto industry, about 6,500 UAW auto-parts workers hit the picket lines Thursday morning at American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. in Detroit and other cities. A 4-year contract with UAW members at American Axle, one of the world’s largest auto suppliers, expired at midnight Wednesday and the two sides could not reach a tentative agreement. By late Thursday the strike already was affecting General Motors Corp., American Axle’s biggest customer and former owner.
Car Care Council’s Women’s Board Expands Sponsorship Opportunities
The Car Care Council Women’s Board is expanding its sponsorship program to allow for support of all of the Women’s Board activities for the year, which include industry outreach, consumer education and recruiting women to the industry, as well as serving as an advisory board to the “Be Car Care Aware” campaign.
Registration Forms Now Available for MEMA Counterfeiting Seminar
As part of its continuing efforts to address the counterfeiting and intellectual property right violations problems — which costs the U.S. automotive industry nearly $3 billion and costs the global industry $12 billion each year — MEMA will present a one-day seminar — “Taking Action Against Automotive Parts Counterfeiting, Diversion and IPR Violations” — on Monday, April 5, at the Dearborn Hyatt, Dearborn, Mich.
Herman Trend Alert: Competition for Recent Graduates
Employers are showing renewed interest in fresh college graduates. For years, these young people have experienced frustrating difficulty finding stimulating and rewarding jobs after graduation. Many companies that had traditionally conducted on-campus interviews have been missing; the interest in graduates has been unusually low. Things are changing. Employers are showing renewed interest in college seniors, increasing their recruiting efforts and demonstrating stronger response to inquiries from students taking the initiative to find their preferred career-starting job.
Cooper Tire Increases Capacity at Ohio Plant
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. said it plans to add capacity at its Findlay, Ohio, tire plant with an equipment investment of $1.8 million. The capacity will increase by 500,000 tires annually and add at least 30 additional jobs in the Findlay production facility. The facility should be running at full production levels with new equipment in place by late summer.
U.S. Faces Decline in Engineers As Student Programs Grow Overseas
The United States faces a shortage of engineers in coming years, and that could diminish the nation’s status as a leader in technology development and innovation, executives and educators say. The looming shortage comes as nations, including China and India, are seeing a boom in the number of students in engineering programs. Assuming the trend continues, it could result in the U.S. continuing to lose technology jobs to overseas competition.
Automotive Supplier ZF Lemforder Plans to Close Duncan, S.C., Plant
Automotive supplier ZF Lemforder will close one of its two Duncan, SC, plants within two years and will lay off an unspecified number of employees, officials confirmed last week. Frank Buscemi, public affairs director with ZF Group North America, said the company’s components plant would be closed by the end of 2005 because it cannot fill demand and cannot be expanded.
Auto Suppliers Under Pressure to Shift Production Abroad
A new study soon to be released by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is showing that the pressure to move automotive manufacturing jobs abroad will continue, despite federal and local government efforts to maintain or increase industry employment levels in the U.S. The SAE will release the report at the 2004 SAE World Congress in Detroit next month. The study, which is still under development, will outline “best practices” for global automotive suppliers. The Odyssey study seeks to help suppliers understand how their global manufacturing operations will need to change and how best to make those changes to survive and thrive.
Clemson Nabs Top Leader For Auto Project
The new director of Clemson’s automotive research center drives a minivan, but Robert Geolas does not recall how many pistons it packs. Geolas, a North Carolina State grad, said his Honda CRV was built in 1991. Or was that 1992? His wife once told him he did not have enough automotive experience to change a tire. “I hope they didn’t hire me to be an automotive expert,” Geolas said. But Geolas said there are plenty at Clemson. He said the university has automotive engineering talent and the vision to build a graduate program designed to attract research and higher-paying jobs to South Carolina.