DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — United Auto Workers leaders say they were blindsided by the announcement of layoffs at Cleveland-Cliffs Dearborn Works, a plant that supplies steel for the auto industry.
UAW Local 600 leaders will be scrambling to find work for their members when these layoffs hit this summer beginning July 15. They summed up the reaction among workers with one word.
“Chaos. You, know? A lot of questions. You’ve got a lot of people who worked there a long time that are potentially losing their job,” said Bill Wilhelm, a servicing representative and editor with UAW Local 600.
Wilhelm worked at the plant since 1990 before going on staff with Local 600 last year. He and 1st Vice President Mark DePaoli say the layoffs, which will impact about 500 hourly workers and another 100 salaried employees, caught everyone by surprise.
Hear more from Bill Wilhelm and Mark DePaoli in the video below:
“We just settled a contract with Cleveland-Cliffs about a year ago and things were going well. We definitely did not predict this,” DePaoli said.
Cleveland-Cliffs, which bought the steel plant in 2020, attributes the layoffs to “weak automotive production” in the U.S. The company is the largest steel supplier to the auto industry and employs about a thousand hourly employees in Dearborn.
Previous coverage: 600 Dearborn steelworkers to be laid off as Cleveland-Cliffs cites 'weak' US auto production
Late Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced tariffs on auto imports. It's move the White House claims would encourage domestic manufacturing.
Dr. K. Venkatesh Prasad, head of research at the Center of Automotive Research, says any tariffs could lead to a temporary spike in the cost of components and materials.
“And then you might see that having a ripple-down effect of product cost going up. And so that then creates a reduced demand, at least temporarily, which then says we need a lower volume for material such as steel and then that can slow down the actual factory operations,” Prasad said.
Meanwhile back in Dearborn, Local 600 says laid off workers will get supplemental pay, but because it exists in a pool and there will be roughly 500 members drawing from it, the money won’t last long.
“Our first concern will be to look around at all the companies where we have members and see if we can find jobs,” DePaoli said. “I mean, jobs are going to be the key. We need jobs and currently at this time, the majority of the companies that we work with and represent our members at are not hiring.”
Local 600 is hoping that will change come July. They’ll spend the next several days talking with membership and getting them ready for those layoffs.
