Auto workers escalate strike, walking out at Ford’s largest factory and threatening Stellantis

By TOM KRISHER
AP Auto Writer

DETROIT (AP) — A top Ford executive says the company has reached the limit of how much money it will spend to get a contract agreement with the striking United Auto Workers union. Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford Blue, the company’s internal combustion engine business, told reporters Thursday that Ford stretched to get to the offer it now has on the table. His comments are starkly different from those made by UAW President Shawn Fain Wednesday when he announced an escalation of the union’s strike by walking out at Ford’s largest and most profitable factory. About 33,700 workers are now on strike against Ford and Detroit competitors General Motors and Stellantis.