KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Members of a United Auto Workers union local went on strike today at General Motors' Fairfax facility -- hitting the plant that makes GM's popular Malibu sedan.

During talks over the weekend, UAW Local 31 set a strike deadline for this morning because union negotiators believed that the two sides remained far from an agreement. The Fairfax plant employs more than 2,500 UAW members.

The plant makes the Chevrolet Malibu, a medium-sized sedan that was named "Car of the Year" at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The strike hits a key GM product at a time when the company can ill afford it. Last week GM announced that it lost $3.3 billion in the first quarter, due largely to one-time charges and North American losses that offset gains in the rest of the world.