The United Auto Workers (UAW) sued General Motors (GM) on Tuesday in an effort to block plant closings in three states, The Associated Press reports. The lawsuit, filed in Youngstown, Ohio, says the auto manufacturer is forbidden from idling the plants in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland under its current contract with the union. A spokesperson for GM, however, told The Hill that the plant closures “do not violate the provisions of the UAW-GM National Agreement.” The spokesperson declined to provide any further comment on the lawsuit. ADVERTISEMENT The company announced last November that it was planning to cut 15 percent of its workforce, approximately 15,000 people, by shuttering the factories. The move was met with bipartisan backlash. “We are now looking at cutting all @GM subsidies, including… for electric cars,” President Trump tweeted at the time, adding that he was “very disappointed.” “This decision is corporate greed at its worst,” Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown Sherrod Campbell BrownAbortion fight front and center ahead of midterms Five reasons why cryptocurrencies are raising alarm Democrats worry Jan. 6 probe could divert their agenda MORE (D) added in a statement. GM said in November the closings don't violate the contract with UAW and that the company was working with the union on “solutions to our business challenges.” GM announced last December that it would be offering factory jobs at other locations for the roughly 2,700 workers at plants scheduled to be shut down. The UAW then sued GM in January, accusing them of hiring part-time workers instead of transferring laid-off employees, as they had promised. --This report was updated at 2:33 p.m.<doc-sep>Bloomberg (Bloomberg) -- Hedge funds often measure their investments in minutes, not decades; but for Anchorage Capital Group, its long-held stake in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. is proving that patience can also be profitable.The New York-based money manager stands to make roughly $2 billion on its investment in the film and TV producer, one that began almost 11 years ago with MGM in bankruptcy court. Amazon.com Inc. agreed to buy the company for $8.45 billion Wednesday, a price that includes just under $2 billion in debt.The deal is in many ways a vindication for Kevin Ulrich, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trader who co-founded Anchorage in 2003 and was part of a group of distressed debt investors that took control of MGM as it went through the restructuring process. In recent years the stake looked to be an albatross for the fund, one that came with significant drama in its own right.Ulrich brought in and later fired a high-profile chief executive officer, resisted efforts by activist investor Carl Icahn to take control, and held out for a bigger payday after years of considering various exit strategies. By selling now, as demand for media content from entertainment and technology companies alike is booming, he’s proving his long-held faith in the investment was justified.“There was a lot of maneuvering, a lot of financial engineering,” said Steven Azarbad, chief investment officer at New York’s Maglan Capital, an MGM investor who sold his shares four years ago. “But they’ve done great.”A representative for Anchorage declined to comment.When Ulrich first invested in MGM, he was new to Hollywood. He helped pick Gary Barber, a South African-born producer of films such as “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” as chief executive officer of the storied but debt-laden studio. Barber brought to the table a shrewd business sense, and connections into a world Ulrich long admired from afar.Barber shepherded MGM’s development of “The Hobbit” franchise, a co-production with Warner Bros., that became a global smash hit. He helmed the release of the James Bond film, “Skyfall,” which generated over $1 billion at the box office, and he revived the studio’s work in television. Barber also brokered a deal to bring on TV super producer Mark Burnett, which gave MGM access to reality show hits like “Survivor” and “The Apprentice,” but would ultimately become personally troublesome.In 2012 the company bought back Icahn’s stock for $590 million. It also filed paperwork for a possible public offering of shares, and considered other options, such as a sale.As Barber boosted MGM’s film and TV pipeline, Ulrich was increasingly entranced by the allure of Hollywood. He became a regular at movie premieres in Los Angeles and New York, and frequented industry parties in the Hamptons and elsewhere. He became active in creative decisions after becoming chair of MGM’s board -- somewhat unusual for a non-executive lacking Hollywood experience -- even getting involved with business granularities like casting.Growing RiftBut over the following years a rift began to open up between Barber and Ulrich. When it was time to renew Barber’s contract in 2017, Ulrich conducted an extensive search for a new CEO. When it ended, he ultimately chose to sign Barber to a new five-year deal. Yet around the same time, the pair split on whether to sell the company, with Ulrich wanting to hang on to the studio and Barber saying it was time to find a buyer.The company would hold buyout talks with Apple Inc. as well as Chinese investors that would ultimately prove fruitless.Only months after renewing Barber’s deal, Ulrich fired him. The shock departure meant the company had to pay Barber for five years of salary and buy out his equity, a package totaling $260 million. In the three years since Barber left, Ulrich hasn’t replaced him, instead operating an “office of the chief executive officer,” comprised of various people that each have their personal vision for MGM.Barber declined to comment via his spokesperson.Bounce BackAfter the initial period of success following the restructuring, the gains became harder to come by, as they did in Anchorage’s overall credit-focused business. Two senior managers left the firm in January 2020, and another in November. Anchorage’s flagship strategy, with about $8.5 billion under management, returned just 0.6% in 2018, 1.5% in 2019 and 4.4% in 2020, according to people familiar with the matter.In December, MGM hired investment bankers for a potential sale.MGM only released one film in theaters in 2020. Its biggest potential hit, the latest Bond film, “No Time to Die,” was pushed from last year to this October as a result of the pandemic.Yet the value of MGM’s library rose as everyone from media companies to technology giants have sought to build video streaming platforms that can compete with industry leader Netflix Inc. Earnings jumped 48% last year, to about $307 million, even as sales declined.Anchorage holds a roughly 30% stake in MGM, worth about $2.5 billion in the sale, said people with knowledge of the matter. Anchorage invested around $500 million in the company more than a decade ago. Including the MGM stake, Anchorage’s flagship fund is up 18% this year, the people added. The fund has gained about 8% in 2021 not counting the studio.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.<doc-sep>Bank of America CEO on raising minimum wage: It's an investment in our teammates President Joe Biden stops to talk to the media as he drives a Ford F-150 Lightning truck at Ford Dearborn Development Center, Tuesday, May 18, 2021, in Dearborn, Mich. Ethereum's 27-year-old founder says we're in a crypto bubble. Did it just burst? Vitalik Buterin, co-founder and inventor of Ethereum speaks during Samsung Developer Conference in San Jose, California on October 30, 2019. QAnon is spreading in churches. These pastors are trying to stop it Left: James Kendall is the Senior Pastor at Grace Community Church in Madera, California. Kendall gave a sermon at his church warning congregants about QAnon. Right: Ben Marsh is a pastor at First Alliance Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He has seen members of his church share conspiracy theories on their social media pages. Carlos Ghosn says he has to tell his side of the story TOPSHOT - Former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn looks on before addressing a large crowd of journalists on his reasons for dodging trial in Japan, where he is accused of financial misconduct, at the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut on January 8, 2020. - Ghosn arrived at the venue, making his first public appearance since skipping bail in Japan. The fugitive tycoon, who denies any wrongdoing, skipped bail while awaiting trial on multiple charges of financial misconduct including allegedly under-reporting his compensation to the tune of $85 million. (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images) B25_25594_R James Bond (Daniel Craig) prepares to shoot in NO TIME TO DIE, an EON Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios film Credit: Nicola Dove © 2020 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. (CNN Business) — The United Auto Workers union sued General Motors on Tuesday, claiming the company’s plan to shutter three auto plants violates the union’s labor contract. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Ohio, asks the court to order GM to reverse its decision to close plants in Baltimore; Lordstown, Ohio; and Warren, Michigan. It also seeks damages for affected employees, including back wages and benefits. The UAW says the closings breach a 2015 labor agreement that “prohibits the Company from closing or idling any plant during the term of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.” GM (GM), along with Ford (F) and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), has contracts with the UAW that are set to expire in September. The Lordstown plant is scheduled to close next week and the other two plants are set to do the same in coming months. GM said in a statement that the company is not in violation of its labor contract with the union. “The announcements made by General Motors on November 26 do not violate the provisions of the UAW-GM National Agreement. We continue to work with the UAW on solutions to our business challenges,” the statement said. GM announced a major restructuring in November, including the closure of five plants in North America and the reduction of its salaried workforce by 15%. GM laid off 8,000 salaried workers, and 6,000 hourly workers will either lose their jobs or be reassigned to other plants. The company has found new jobs for many of the workers at soon-to-close auto plants. Last week, GM said it would delay the closure of its Hamtramck, Michigan, plant until January 2020. It was scheduled to close in June. Relocated workers will be given opportunities to work in Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana. Workers at the Baltimore and Warren transmission facilities will be offered transfer opportunities closer to the shutdown of their plants, GM said. GM’s new motto is “Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions, Zero Congestion,” as it shifts to self-driving, electric vehicles. But the restructuring is also about making cars that people currently want. Customers are increasingly shunning sedans in favor of SUVs and hatchbacks. The company said the restructuring would make it more efficient, saving $6 billion a year by the end of 2020. GM said its slimmed-down production plan would allow it to share technology across all of its vehicles and reduce the amount of time and workers it takes to build cars.<doc-sep>
The labor union for U.S. auto workers on Tuesday argued in a new lawsuit that General Motor’s plans to shutter several North American plants is in violation of a 2015 labor agreement. The legal challenge from the United Automobile Workers comes as the Detroit-based carmaker also faces federal scrutiny over its decision to close facilities in Ohio and Maryland, which it says will better align operations with a focus on trucks, sports utility vehicles and electric cars. The plan doesn't "violate the provisions of the UAW-GM National Agreement. We continue to work with the UAW on solutions to our business challenges. We have no further comments at this time on the lawsuit,” a GM spokesman said in a statement. In total, GM is laying off 14,000 workers in the U.S., but the company says employees at the affected plants would be offered positions to fill the 1,000 vacancies at its Michigan factory. Employees, however, say certain facilities will be favored over others based upon contracts with the UAW. A GM spokesman did not respond to Fox Business’ inquiries on which employees would be offered positions first. Ticker Security Last Change Change % GM GENERAL MOTORS CO. 59.90 +1.80 +3.10% In defense of the strategy, CEO Mary Barra said it will ensure the company is “around for the next several decades.” “We understand that this is a very difficult time, it’s a very difficult announcement to make,” she said in December. “We’re really focused on making sure [lawmakers] understand the situation.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP Elected officials who have been vocal critics of GM’s plan -- including Ohio Sens. Rob Portman, a Republican, and Sherrod Brown, a Democrat – did not immediately respond to request for comment on the UAW’s lawsuit. "We remain frustrated with GM’s handling of this decision and disappointed with how the hardworking employees, who by sweat and toil have made GM what it is today, have been treated throughout this process," Portman and Brown wrote in a Fox Business op-ed in December. "They deserve the chance to continue making cars in the community many of them have called home for their entire lives, and to be treated with the respect and dignity they have earned through the region’s decades-long commitment to GM."