American Axle close to ending three-month strike

The costly strike action by one of GM’s key suppliers, American Axle, is close to ending as workers vote today on a new contract that’s expected to slash union wages. Earlier today the last strike at a GM plant ended with news UAW Local 31 staff at the Kansas Chevrolet Malibu plant are set to resume work tomorrow. Workers at American Axle are still voting on their latest contract and initial reports suggest a majority are approving the new deal.

Roughly 3,650 workers at UAW Local 235, one of the largest union groups, first went on strike 87 days ago and have been voting on the new contract since 3am this morning. The deal is expected to cut a typical worker's wages by $10 per hour but offers buyouts of up to $140,000, reports Reuters.

Already reeling from declining sales, the strikes couldn’t come at a worse time for GM, which has suffered delays in production and a loss of consumer confidence because of the strike action. The General had to partly shut down about 30 North American plants and provided about $218 million to clinch a settlement.