Kokomo, Indiana — Normally a new, $2.5 billion factory, complete with 1,400 expected jobs, would be considered a good thing for a local economy.“It’s a spit in the face,” said Gary Quirk, president of United Auto Workers Local 685.
That struggle is on display in the Midwest now, as the current UAW contract with the Big Three unionized automakers — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis — runs out at 11:59 pm on Thursday. But now Stellantis, Ford and GM are planning all-electric futures, futures that will likely need fewer workers to build the same number of vehicles.
Philip Kline has worked at one of the transmission plants in town for 27 years. His dad worked there for 30 years. He doesn’t believe that there is real demand out in the public for EVs.That’s a common fear, even among those who don’t believe in EVs — that the auto industry will be forced to shift to EVs whether or not there is demand for them by car buyers.
While EV sales are still only a fraction of vehicle sales, the automakers see growing public demand for EVs — and the need to comply with increasingly tougher environmental regulations around the world.“If push comes to shove, if there are layoffs because of the EVs, the bottom line is we have no place to go,” Quirk said.The Kokomo battery plant is still more than a year away from starting production.
The UAW said it doesn’t oppose plans to shift to EVs, even though by some estimates that could mean a 30% drop in jobs because EVs have fewer moving parts and need less labor to make.