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  Reuters

  UAW commits $40 million to organizing US auto, EV battery workers

  The UAW had said in November it was launching a first-of-its-kind push to publicly organize the entire non-union auto sector in the U.S. after strikes helped workers win record new contracts with the Detroit Three automakers. UAW President Shawn Fain has been pushing General Motors, Ford and Chrysler-parent Stellantis to open the doors for the union to organize future battery plant workers as well as raise wages at their respective joint-venture battery plants to match assembly workers' pay. In the next few years, the electric-vehicle (EV) battery industry is slated to add tens of thousands of jobs across the country, the UAW said in a statement.

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  Reuters

  Ford cuts prices of electric Mustang Mach-E by up to $8,100

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Ford Motor Co on Tuesday said it had cut prices on its Mustang Mach-E electric SUV by up to $8,100 after sales fell sharply in January. The No. 2 U.S. automaker's lowest-price 2023 model year Mach E version now has a suggested retail price of $39,895, down from $42,995. Other versions including the extended-range premium version will drop in price by $8,100 to $48,895.

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  Reuters

  Toyota holds off response on wage talks after first round

  TOKYO (Reuters) -Toyota Motor, the world's biggest automaker, did not reach an immediate agreement with its union over demands for hefty pay hikes on Wednesday but will continue talks in coming days, raising doubts about current expectations for wage talks. Toyota has long served as the pace-setter for Japan's annual spring labour-management wage offensive, and had accepted the union's demand in full on the first day of the annual wage negotiations in the past two years. "I understand that we both have mutual recognition about the need to secure talent by improving wages and other treatment," said Hiroki Akiyama, deputy secretary-general of the Federation of All Toyota Workers' Union.

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  Reuters

  Head of Boeing's 737 MAX program leaves after mid-air incident

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Boeing said on Wednesday it was replacing the head of its troubled 737 MAX program effective immediately, the first major executive departure since the Jan. 5 mid-air panel blowout of a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9. Ed Clark, who had been with the planemaker for nearly 18 years, departed as Boeing has been dealing with its latest crisis and has vowed to ramp up quality efforts. Boeing has scrambled to explain and strengthen safety procedures after a door panel detached during flight on a brand new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, forcing pilots to make an emergency landing while passengers were exposed to a gaping hole 16,000 feet above the ground.