500 union employees at CNH Industrial’s Basildon, UK, plant will strike periodically throughout May in response to a pay increase dispute, according to Unite, the union representing those workers. 

The union claims CNH Industrial has offered a 4% pay increase for 2024, despite an agreement struck in 2022 that dedicated pay increases would be calculated by the average rate of inflation over the year, which would be 7.4%. Striking workers, which make up nearly the entire factory shopfloor, will strike on 9 days through May, with more strikes to be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved.

The UK strike could impact the international supply of New Holland T6 tractors, which are built solely at the Basildon plant. This plant also manufactures the T7 tractor line, though that tractor is also produced at New Holland’s St. Valentin plant in Austria. In a statement to BBC, a New Holland spokesperson said the company was "disappointed" about the decision, but it did not foresee any disruption to its tractor supply. The Basildon plant is also where New Holland’s T6 methane tractor is produced, which hit the North American market in 2022. 

CNH Industrial just recently avoided a strike at its Fargo, N.D., plant, when it reached an agreement with union members on the morning of May 4 after workers rejected the company’s initial offer.