The increasingly bitter monthlong strike at auto parts maker American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. is starting to hit General Motors Corp. where it hurts. Two GM factories that make cars in Michigan and Ohio soon will be affected by the strike, which already has fully or partially shut down 28 GM plants in the U.S. and Canada due to parts shortages. GM confirmed Thursday that the strike will force it to idle the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant after Friday's lone shift, and a local union president in Lordstown, Ohio, said Thursday that his complex will be shut down on April 4. Previously the strike had affected only plants that assemble or supply parts for slow-selling pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.
See "Strike Could Shut Down GM Car Factories", Tom Krisher, San Francisco Chronicle, March 27, 2008