GM’s Flint Pickup Plant Faces Shutdown as Axle Supplier Strike Hits Critical Two-Week Mark

General Motors is staring down a potential shutdown of its Flint, Michigan pickup truck plant within two weeks after workers at axle supplier Dauch Corp. walked off the job late Sunday. The strike at Dauch’s Three Rivers, Michigan facility—home to about 1,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) members—has cut off a critical supply of axles to GM’s Flint assembly complex, where the company builds its full-size pickup trucks. GM confirmed it has roughly two weeks’ worth of axles in inventory, but the automaker is now monitoring the situation closely as the strike enters its first full day. The walkout is rooted in long-simmering labor grievances. Workers at Dauch, formerly known as American Axle & Manufacturing until January when it rebranded under CEO David Dauch and his late father, Richard Dauch, are demanding substantial wage increases from a current top rate of $22 per hour.

They also seek improved benefits, arguing that concessions made during the 2008 financial crisis—when hourly wages were slashed from $29 to as low as $14.50—were never fully restored despite the company’s profitability. UAW President Shawn Fain framed the strike as a fight for dignity, highlighting that Dauch’s executives have amassed $111 million in compensation over the past decade while workers continue to struggle. “These members have built you an empire of profit while getting treated like dirt,” Fain said during a live webcast announcing the strike. “They have taken wage cuts, benefit cuts. The CEO has made $111 million in the last decade while workers continue to scrape to get by.” UAW Local 2093 President Josh Jagger echoed the sentiment, stating that workers never received restitution for the concessions they made during GM’s near-bankruptcy era. The strike comes as GM ramps up production of its full-size pickup lineup, a cornerstone of its North American operations and a key profit driver. A prolonged shutdown of the Flint plant would ripple through GM’s supply chain, potentially disrupting thousands of jobs and delaying deliveries to dealerships.

The automaker has not yet commented on contingency plans, but industry analysts warn that the timing could not be worse, with truck demand remaining strong and inventory levels already tight. The dispute underscores broader labor tensions in the auto industry, where workers are pushing back against years of wage stagnation and benefit erosion, even as automakers post record profits. For GM, the stakes are particularly high: the Flint plant is one of its largest and most strategic facilities, and a prolonged stoppage could force costly rerouting of production or temporary layoffs. The UAW has framed the strike as a test of corporate accountability, with Fain vowing to hold Dauch’s leadership to account for what he describes as a decade of broken promises. As the strike begins, both sides remain far apart, with no immediate signs of negotiation.

GM’s ability to keep its Flint trucks rolling now hinges on whether Dauch and the UAW can bridge the divide before the clock runs out on the plant’s axle reserves.