DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co agreed to invest more than $6 billion in U.S. plants, add another 5,750 jobs and pay bigger bonuses than General Motors Co in a new contract with the United Auto Workers union on Tuesday.

Ford said the four-year contract for 41,000 factory workers would keep it cost-competitive with rivals, and analysts said it could clear the way for a credit upgrade that would bring down borrowing costs for the No. 2 U.S. automaker.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co and the United Auto Workers union said on Tuesday they had reached a tentative four-year contract that would allow the automaker to invest almost $5 billion in U.S. plants and create an additional 5,750 jobs.

Ford declined to comment in detail on how the agreement would affect fixed costs, but said the proposed contract would allow it to bring work to the United States from Mexico, China and Japan.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Major automakers posted double-digit percentage U.S. sales gains for September in a rebound that General Motors Co said showed the economy was likely to steer clear of a double-dip recession.

Among the Detroit automakers, GM sales rose 20 percent, while Ford’s rose 9 percent and Chrysler Group was up 27 percent. Nissan Motor Co saw a sales gain of 25 percent and Volkswagen AG posted a sales increase of 36 percent.

DETROIT (Reuters) – September U.S. auto sales are seen rising to their highest since April when the earthquake in Japan began to impact inventory and demand, but a weak economic outlook will curb the pace of the industry’s recovery in the coming months.

Japanese automakers Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will finally have enough inventory to compete in the market and both will show gains in September market share, particularly Honda, said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with Edmunds.com.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Workers represented by the United Auto Workers union approved on Wednesday a four-year labor contract with General Motors Co, the first such deal for the top U.S. automaker since its 2009 bankruptcy.

Ratification of the GM deal, which covers 48,500 hourly workers, paves the way for the UAW to complete talks with GM’s crosstown rival, Ford Motor Co. Talks are also under way at Chrysler Group LLC, which is controlled by Fiat SpA.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Workers represented by the United Auto Workers union approved a four-year labor contract with General Motors Co on Wednesday, the first such deal for the top U.S. automaker since its 2009 bankruptcy.

Ratification of the GM deal, which covers 48,500 hourly workers, clears the way for the union to complete talks with the automaker’s crosstown rival, Ford Motor Co.

DETROIT, Sept 26 (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz),
facing a pension shortfall that may rival its market value by
year-end, has won an agreement from the United Auto Workers to
consider ways to reduce the risk of its underfunded plan, a
letter between the automaker and the union shows.

The letter, which is part of a proposed four-year labor
contract with GM workers, does not detail specific steps GM and
the UAW might take to address the pension problem.

DETROIT (Reuters) – If the United Auto Workers union has a sacred space, this rustic retreat and golf course known as Black Lake is as close as it gets. But Black Lake has also emerged as a sign of the union’s overreach and looming financial woes.

For four decades, the United Auto Workers has maintained a sprawling property in northern Michigan as a shrine to the ambitions of the union’s founder, Walter Reuther.

DETROIT, Sept 21 (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers has
turned its focus in contract negotiations to Ford Motor Co
(F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) after progress in talks with smaller rival Chrysler
appeared to stall, two people with knowledge of the discussions
said on Wednesday.

The abrupt shift in negotiating tactics by the union came
just after the UAW announced that it had agreed to extend its
current contract with Chrysler until Oct. 19.

DETROIT, Sept 21 (Reuters) – With a tentative agreement
with General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in hand, the United Auto Workers
union shifts its focus to Chrysler Group LLC where a one-week
contract extension will expire late Wednesday.

Last Wednesday night, less than two hours before the
four-year pact between the union and Chrysler was to expire,
Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne fired off a letter
to UAW President Bob King chiding the union chief for missing
an opportunity.