Ford CEO Jim Farley Thinks 2023 UAW Strike Was Unnecessary

After roughly six weeks, the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against Ford (as well as General Motors and Stellantis) officially ended in October 2023 after the two sides reached a tentative agreement, which was ratified some time later. That deal cost Ford quite a lot of money, as it was keen to point out, and came after a very public spat between CEO Jim Farley and UAW President Shawn Fain. Turns out, Farley believes that the entire thing was unnecessary, too.

“I didn’t understand the strike to be honest, it was completely unnecessary,” Farley said during his appearance at the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival. “I didn’t understand why the UAW decided to strike our plants. As I said we were more motivated than them to find a great contract and by the way, we were the first company in both the U.S. and Canada to find an agreement and Bill (Ford) and I are super proud of that but the strike was completely unnecessary.”

Farley previously stated that fallout from the UAW strike has prompted the automaker to “think carefully” about where it will build vehicles in the future, nothing that this is a big shift in philosophy after the two sides had previously enjoyed a cozier relationship that avoided strikes since the 1970s. “Really our relationship has changed. It’s been a watershed moment for the company. Does this have business impact? Yes,” he added.

Ultimately, the two sides were able to reach an agreement, with workers receiving higher wages and better benefits, but Ford later admitted that the strike that led to the deal cost it a whopping $1.7 billion. That loss was a direct result of idled production related to the automaker’s many high-margin trucks and SUVs, which resulted in vehicle wholesales that were roughly 100,000 units lower than planned as of the conclusion of 2023.