- Jeffrey Aznavorian has already cut output about 6% at his small auto parts factory outside Detroit due to the United Auto Workers strike. But he is bracing for it to get worse.The union, which initiated strikes at three plants last week, one of each owned by Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler parent Stellantis, on Friday announced it would expand the action to 38 parts distribution facilities in 20 states owned by GM and Stellantis.
The supply base for the Detroit Three, as they’re called, reaches deep into the economy, especially in the upper Midwest, and touches everything from chemical and metal producers to electronics. If the strike expands, it would only be a matter of weeks before some smaller suppliers faltered, said Marick Masters, a professor of business at Wayne State University.