General Motors workers walked out after the United Auto Workers union called a strike against the carmaker’s US operations on Monday, jeopardising the struggling group’s turnround plans. The strike – involving about 80,000 workers at 70 plants – follows a breakdown in talks over a new four-year labour contract. But union leaders said they would return to the bargaining table on Tuesday and analysts expect the stoppage to last a week or two. Talks between the UAW and Ford and Chrysler are on hold pending the outcome of negotiations with GM. S&P said it would review GM’s rating “if the work stoppage were to persist beyond a brief and largely symbolic period”. Lex says while a brief strike may help sell an eventual deal to union members, a more protracted dispute risks crippling both sides even further.

This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 5:41 and is filed under Capital markets. Tagged with gm. Edit this entry.