UAW strike intensifies as 5,000 General Motors workers who build SUVs at Texas plant walk off the job - and company reveals labor action is already costing it $200M per week

The United Auto Workers union turned up the heat on General Motors on Tuesday as 5,000 more workers walked off their jobs at a highly profitable SUV factory in Arlington, Texas. 

The move comes just a day after the union added a strike at a Stellantis factory in Sterling Heights, Michigan, north of Detroit, that makes Ram pickup trucks - a cash cow for the company.

Even before the latest walkouts, the strike against the 'Big Three' Detroit automakers was costing General Motors about $200 million per week in lost profits, the company revealed in its latest quarterly results.

UAW President Shawn Fain last week threatened further strikes in an effort to get GM, Ford and Stellantis to increase their pay offers.

But GM CEO Mary Barra said on Tuesday morning's earnings conference call that the company already has made a record offer and won't agree to a contract that jeopardizes the company's future.

GM CEO Mary Barra said on Tuesday morning's earnings conference call that the company already has made a record offer 

UAW President Shawn Fain last week threatened further strikes in an effort to get GM, Ford and Stellantis to increase their pay offers 

GM reported net income of $3.1 billion for the quarter that ended last month, down 7 percent from a year ago due to lost production from the strike as well as increased warranty costs, the company said.

The company also withdrew its previous earnings guidance for 2023, citing uncertainty over the length of the strike and how many factories would ultimately be shut down.

The UAW strike, which began on September 15, has employed a gradual strategy of targeting a handful of plants, and increasing strike locations as time goes on without a deal.

GM says the strikes cost $200 million through the end of September, and another $600 million so far this month, with the ongoing hit to profits estimated at $200 million per week based on the plants that are currently closed. 

Despite the strike disruptions, GM said it made $2.28 per share excluding one-time items, easily beating Wall Street estimates of $1.87 and sending the company's shares up more than 1 percent in the pre-market.

GM's revenue of $44.13 billion rose 5.4 percent from last year, also exceeding analyst estimates of $42.48 billion, according to data provider FactSet. 

In addition to GM, the UAW strikes are targeting automakers Ford and Stellantis, the maker of Dodge, Jeep and Ram. 

On Monday, another 6,800 union members walked out of a Stellantis plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, that makes Ram pickup trucks, a huge profit center for the company. 

The strike launched Tuesday against the GM plant in Texas targets a factory making large truck-based SUVs that are among the company's most profitable vehicles. They include the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade.

After the Arlington strike was announced, GM said that it was disappointed in the escalation, calling the strike 'unnecessary and irresponsible.' 

The company said the strike was harming employees and would have 'negative ripple effects on our dealers, suppliers, and the communities that rely on us.' 

GM stock has dropped more than 10 percent over the past month, but rose slightly on Tuesday

UAW members are seen walking out as they launch a new strike against a highly profitable GM plant in Arlington, Texas that makes SUVs including Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade

 The General Motors world headquarters office at Detroit's Renaissance Center is seen from the Hart Plaza

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, left, listens as President Joe Biden speaks to striking UAW members outside a General Motors facility last month

UAW boss Fain tied the new walkout to GM's financial results, saying in a prepared statement that GM beat Wall Street expectations, and that its offer lags behind Ford's. 

'It's time GM workers, and the whole working class, get their fair share,' Fain said.

Barra said GM's record offer rewards employees but doesn´t put the company or UAW jobs at risk. 

'Accepting unsustainably high costs would put our future and GM team member jobs at risk, and jeopardizing our future is something I will not do,' she said in a statement.

About 46,000 workers are now on strike against all three automakers, or about 32 percent of the union's 146,000 members at the Detroit Three.

The strikes, now in their sixth week, cover seven assembly plants and 38 parts warehouses across the three companies.

The union is demanding a 36 percent pay raise over four years, a four-day work week, and other improvements to compensation and benefits plans. 

In previous strikes the union has targeted a particular company and reached an agreement that served as a model for a deal with the other two, but this time it is taking a different tack by striking all three companies at once. 

So far, GM's sales and pricing in North America have remained stable despite the strike.

Average selling prices for GM vehicles were $50,750 in the latest quarter, just slightly down from the previous quarter, said GM Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson.

'So far the consumer has held up remarkably well for us, as evidenced by the average transaction prices,' Jacobson said. 'They continue to hang in and I think exceeded most expectations that were set at the beginning of the year.' 

Jacobson said GM executives are concerned about rising interest rates as well as the conflict in the Middle East and whether that could have impact on consumer behavior. 

But he did not echo Tesla CEO Elon Musk's pessimism about the impact of rising interest rates on consumer demand.

Jessica Caldwell, head of insights for the Edmunds.com auto site, said GM's sales numbers looked good on the surface, but that could change in the next few months. 

As cold weather arrives, those in the market are usually looking for larger four-wheel-drive vehicles. 

But she said a lingering strike could close plants, cut production of those lucrative vehicles and 'be harbingers of sales declines during an important stretch of the calendar ahead.'