Business

Voting on a tentative contract agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union that ended a six-week strike against the company appears too close to call after the latest tallies at several GM factories were announced Wednesday. The union hasn’t posted final vote totals yet, but workers at several large factories who finished voting in the past few days have …

Michigan’s minimum wage is scheduled to increase on Jan. 1, 2024. The state’s minimum wage will increase from $10.10 to $10.33 per hour, according to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. In addition, starting Jan. 1, the 85% of the minimum hourly wage rate for minors ages 16 and 17 will increase to $8.78 per hour. The tipped …

About 200 people have been laid off at Pfizer’s facility in Portage, the company confirmed. The laid-off employees were notified last week, according to MLive. A lower demand than what the company expected for its COVID-19 products was stated as the culprit. The product Comirnaty is Pfizer’s vaccine to prevent COVID-19 in people 12 years and older. Paxlovid, meanwhile, is …

Ford Motor Co. said Monday that it’s pausing construction of a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall until it is confident it can run the factory competitively. The move comes as the company is in the midst of national contract talks with the United Auto Workers union, which wants to represent workers at battery factories and win them top wages. …

Ford is telling owners of more than 140,000 SUVs in the U.S. to park them outside because they can catch fire even when the engines are turned off. The company is recalling certain Lincoln MKC SUVs from the 2015 to 2019 model years. Ford says a short-circuit can develop in the 12-volt battery monitor sensor. It can overheat and cause …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation delivered some good news for the village of Constantine Tuesday. They announced that Michigan Strategic Fund approved a new dairy-processing facility that will reduce the carbon footprint of dairy byproduct and bring new jobs and infrastructure to the community. A total capital investment of $41.1 million is expected. MMPA and Dairy …

February’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by nine-tenths of a percent from January. Figures from the monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget show St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate fell from 5.9 percent in January to 5 percent in February. In addition, Cass County also experienced a drop in its unemployment figures from …

Crossroads Mall in Portage is searching for assistance with funding to fix the crumbling roads surrounding the mall. Kalamazoo-based WWMT recently reported on the pothole-riddled state of the circular road, sharing that mall owners are turning to Kalamazoo Metro Transit for help with the estimated $700,000 project. Buses travel nearly 800 routes a week along Ring Road, surrounding the mall, …

DeNooyer Chevrolet and DeNooyer Ford will be hosting an Electronics Recycling Event on Wednesday, March 29th, 2023, at both locations, in partnership with Schupan Asset Management. The event will be hosted in each dealership’s respective parking lots with Schupan’s vehicles being the designated drop-off location from 10am until 2pm. Accepted items include the following items: Computers/Laptops/Servers Printers/Scanners Cable Boxes/Routers Mobile …

Ford Motor Co. plans to build a $3.5 billion factory in Michigan that would employ at least 2,500 people to make lower-cost batteries for a variety of new and existing electric vehicles. The plant, to be built on land being readied for industrial development near Marshall, would start making batteries in 2026. It would crank out 35 gigawatt hours worth …