These layoffs come one week after Ford laid off 306 workers at the plant. These workers were from multiple departments across all three shifts, but primarily the midnight shift. It’s unclear what departments or shifts these new layoffs are from.
Turner said these layoffs are a direct response to the continued strikes at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville. Turner also said the UAW fully expects these workers to be recalled when the strike is resolved.
“We’re going to have a rough week,” he said. “I mean, close to 700 of our members are out starting on Monday that have been affected by this.”
While workers at Sharonville’s Ford plant have not been called to join the strike, 8,700 union members went on strike last Wednesday at Louisville’s plant, which is Ford’s largest plant in the world. The Louisville plant’s assembly lines build multiple Ford vehicles, which then use transmissions from plants like Sharonville’s.
In a live stream Friday, UAW President Shawn Fain ratcheted up the rhetoric pitching UAW at odds with Ford as negotiations between the parties stall.
“I want to be crystal clear about one thing. The days of UAW and Ford being a team to fight other companies are over,” Fain said.
Turner previously said he was surprised that the Sharonville plant wasn’t part of the strikes initial strikes, especially because the Ford Sharonville Transmission Plant makes the transmission for one of the most popular vehicles in the world: the Ford F-250.
Friday, Turner said his workers were prepared to continue appealing to Ford for better contracts, but he acknowledged the stress of the fight against their employer has taken a toll.
“I wouldn’t say this lightly, our membership is hopeful that we get a tentative agreement soon. Nobody wants to be on strike,” he said.
The nationwide strikes have targeted the Big Three — General Motors, Stellantis and Ford. UAW went on strike Sept. 15 when it couldn’t reach agreements on new contracts with the Big Three.
Cox First Media content partner WCPO reached out to Ford for comment on the latest round of layoffs at the Sharonville plant and didn’t receive a response.
A Ford representative blamed previous layoffs at the plant on the strike at Louisville’s Kentucky Truck which uses the majority of transmissions produced in Sharonville.
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