DETROIT (AP) -- American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. said Thursday night a new contract proposal from the striking United Auto Workers is a ''slight improvement'' but falls far short of the deep concessions the company needs to compete in the auto parts business.
''If the UAW continues to refuse to make realistic economic proposals, AAM will be forced to consider closing these facilities,'' the company said in a news release.
Messages seeking comment from UAW spokesman Roger Kerson were left after business hours Thursday.
About 3,600 UAW members at five American Axle plants in Michigan and New York went on strike Feb. 26 against American Axle.
The six-week strike has caused parts shortages that have closed or curtailed work at 29 General Motors Corp. factories, affecting about 39,000 hourly employees. The strike also has curbed work at a Hummer plant run by AM General LLC.
''Although it was a slight improvement from the UAW's previous bargaining positions, the all-in labor cost proposed by the UAW is still approximately 200 percent'' of competitors' pay rates, the company's statement said.
American Axle said it has offered ''generous buyouts'' for those who don't want to work if their pay is sharply cut.
Company spokeswoman Renee Rogers said contract talks were expected to continue Friday.
American Axle chief Richard Dauch has warned that the company has the ability to move work now done in the U.S. to foreign factories. American Axle has plants in Mexico, Brazil, Europe and Asia.
The company has said its U.S. hourly labor cost of $73.48 (euro46.29) per worker is three times the rate at its domestic competitors and too high for it to win new business.
American Axle, formed from parts plants sold by GM in 1994, wants to cut the labor costs to $20 to $30 an hour, which would be similar to competitors and to what will be paid to some new hires under agreements reached between the UAW and the in-house axle-making operations at Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
The UAW issued letters Thursday warning that it could strike at three GM plants in Michigan in what may be a union effort to draw GM's attention to the labor dispute at American Axle. Strikes at the GM plants would be based on local labor disputes.
GM and the UAW reached a national contract agreement last fall, but local plants negotiate their own agreements on overtime and work rules.
Associated Press Writer David Aguilar contributed to this report.
