General Motors

A wave of strikes that disrupted the three largest U.S. automakers for six weeks looked to have been finally resolved, as the auto workers union reached a tentative agreement with holdout General Motors.

The GM deal announced by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union comes after pacts with Stellantis and Ford, appearing to end the strike on the "Big Three" automakers.

Ford has said the need to retore manufacturing operations outweighed the additional costs to sweeten a labor contract to end a strike that has cost it some $1.3 billion.

Ford is halting work on a major battery plant in the northern U.S. state of Michigan, the automaker has said, just seven months after launching the project with a Chinese partner.

The stoppage, which a Ford a representative confirmed to AFP, comes as the company faces a major strike along with both of the other "Big Three" U.S. automakers, Stellantis and General Motors.

General Motors is recalling certain Chevrolet Silverado medium-duty trucks for model year 2019 or later, following the discovery of a potential leak in brake fluid that could result in a fire.

Potentially 40,428 vehicles could be affected.

Ford has announced an investment of $1.3 billion to retool its Canadian assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario to make electric vehicles and batteries for the North American market.    

General Motors is offering buyouts to most of its U.S. salaried workforce and some global executives in an effort to trim costs as it makes the transition to electric vehicles.

Japanese automotive giant Toyota announced Wednesday that its factories in China will remain closed until February 9th due to the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The United Automobile Workers Union in the United States is launching a national strike against General Motors. Nearly 46,000 people won't go to work today, after negotiations on an employment contract have hit a dead end.

General Motors aims to launch a public ride-sharing service across several cities that uses fully self-driving cars by 2019, potentially becoming the first traditional carmaker to deploy autonomous technology at scale in the real world.

General Motors will recall more than 2.5 million vehicles in China over concerns about airbags made by troubled Japanese giant Takata, Chinese authorities have said, dealing a blow to the U.S. automaker in the world's largest car market.