Reply #2: Local Michigan Report: Auto Strike May Force Suppliers To Close Lines

[Purveyor]

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By Wednesday, employees at some auto suppliers in Jackson may have to walk away from their jobs with a layoff notice in hand, rather than a picket sign.

Jim Gillette, director of supplier analysis for CSM Worldwide, a global automotive market analysis group, said some GM suppliers would be impacted by a UAW strike "almost immediately."

"Within a maximum of 48 hours you see a shutdown of lines at supply shops," Gillette said Monday. "It doesn't make sense in the manufacturing environment we are in today to build up an inventory of product."

There are 400 to 600 GM suppliers in Michigan, the most of any state, Gillette said, making a strike of any length a concern to more than just those in GM plants.

"There are people really freaking out," Gillette said. "The whole system is rather fragile because of Michigan's poor state of economic health."

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