WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2022) Auto workers in the US state of Michigan, the center of the automobile industry in the United States, could lose up to $51 million in wages this week as a result of the trucker anti-vaccine mandates protest at the US-Canada border, the Anderson Economic group said on Friday.
"This is a serious disruption with significant human impacts," Anderson Economic Group CEO Patrick Anderson told CNN. "With the industry already short-handed and production lines awaiting parts, any further interruption is very costly."
In mid-January, a mass peaceful protest began in Canada consisting of truckers, farmers and other Canadians. The protesters descended on the capital Ottawa to demand the government scrap discriminatory COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The protest has since spread and truckers also blocked several US-Canada border crossings. Ambassador Bridge, connecting Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario, is the key border crossing through which the two countries conduct trade.
Anderson said the amount of lost wages could increase well beyond $51 million if the truck blockades at US-Canada border crossing in Michigan and elsewhere continue beyond one week.
Canada does not have an automobile industry but US automakers - including Ford, General Motors and Stellantis - operate facilities in the country.
Manufacturers have cut back production at several car factories in Michigan and Ontario, as the protests add pressure on the companies to pay wages amid already weakened national and global supply chains, Anderson said.
The United States and Canada trade $140 million in vehicles and car parts daily.
