The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Sept. 22, edition that a Magna International joint venture in Michigan has laid off 650 employees as the automotive industry braces for widening strikes by the United Auto Workers union in the United States. The Globe's Eric Atkins writes that LM Manufacturing, 49 per cent owned by Magna, supplies seats to Ford Motor's Bronco factory near Detroit, where workers went on strike last week. Magna spokesman Dave Niemiec said the layoffs at LM in Detroit are temporary, and said it is too soon to say if other Magna operations are affected. He said: "We have focused considerable attention on contingency planning to pro-actively address any temporary business disruptions to our operations. If that time comes, we are prepared in terms of temporarily scaling back production on affected programs as efficiently as possible, while being equally prepared to ramp up quickly when ready." Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association head Flavio Volpe said the U.S. strike is affecting some suppliers he represents in Ontario. There are about 12 companies in Ontario that directly supply the three plants on strike, he said, and this number could grow if the strikes spread.