Just last week, General Motors announced it would suspend North American manufacturing operations until at least the end of March in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Now, it’s looking like the closed GM plants won’t reopen until April.
That’s the latest news from a recent report from Reuters, which cites “people briefed in the matter.” According to GM’s original statement, the possibility that the GM plants would reopen will be “reevaluated week-to-week” after March 30th.
Earlier this week, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered non-essential businesses to close until April 13th. It’s unclear at this time if automotive production falls under that category. Auto sales are not allowed, but auto repair is still considered essential.
Meanwhile, GM’s crosstown rival, Ford, says it will extend the suspension of manufacturing operations beyond March 30th, as reported by our sister publication, Ford Authority.
Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA) is also unlikely to resume production on March 30th. According to the United Auto Workers (UAW), two FCA union members have died as a result of the novel coronavirus.
As we covered previously, one GM employee in Michigan recently tested positive for COVID-19.
GM plants in Mexico and Canada are also shutting down as the automaker’s North American manufacturing operations come to a standstill. GM recently provided a schedule for the “systematic orderly suspension” of manufacturing at the various GM plants in Mexico.
Earlier this week, GM announced that it would draw $16 billion in credit as a result of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although auto manufacturing has been suspended, one GM plant in Kokomo, Indiana, will be reconfigured to produce life-saving ventilator equipment. Originally designed to produce small electronic components for various GM vehicles, including engine, transmission, and airbag modules, as well as sensors and circuit board assemblies, GM is now working with Ventec to repurpose the facility to produce a high volume of much-needed medical devices.
Comments
Wow amazing. GM plants closed to end of March won’t reopen till April. Thanks for the update. I can add to that if they dont work Monday they will probably have to wait till Tuesday before they can return to work.
General Motors need to look at the age of their workers before making any decision as it could be safe to send workers who are between the ages of 25-45 with no pre-existing conditions to return to work; while those who are over 45 or having a pre-existing condition may need to stay off the job. Employees between the age of 25-45 with no pre-existing conditions have the lowest risk of catching the Coronavirus.
This might become a National standard where employers can call make workers who are between 25-45 with no pre-existing condition back to the work force before a call back of everyone else.
I guess it was an IT issue here for a bit. As said younger workers may hit the assembly line before older workers hit once a treatment is found.
Treatment for what? The flu? They already have that.
Nothing quite like watching the economy be destroyed right before your very eyes.
Well you can go to the ER rooms in NYC and give them the answers to this “flu” yourself,…
As for the economy. Oh well, it was bound to pop regardless of any disaster as idiot Wall St, companies and banks are over-leveraged in some cases 100 to one, if you go to a bank with that kind of balance sheet asking for a loan you get the police called on you. They should had cleaned up once the 09′ Bailout was complete.
Bad news is many people will be hurt, the good is American ingenuity is alive and well again and the nation will get out of this mess with some damage.
I would like to see Mary Barry lead by example.
She can come down to the plant floor and help out on the assembly line to show how safe it is when GM restarts production.
I’m trying to figure out what kind of an A-hole would give this a thumbs down.
Maybe Mary B ? Or possibly some of her many cronies that spew propaganda here all the time.
Sad that the real car guys get diluted by the GM propaganda team.
Might as well start back up with 2021 model year
And what will have changed with the virus since GM and many others closed down? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The virus is still out there. So all this panic and chaos has been overkill, except for New York and California.
WOW!!! GM would love to get it’s Bolling Green Corvette plant back up and running. Customers all over the globe are waiting for this all-new edition Corvette. GM can sell 3 times as many Corvette it can build, what a terrible timing for GM. There are thousands of customers waiting for the all-new editions of large SUVs that schedule to start flowing out of Arlington, Texas this Spring. New editions Tahoes, Yukons, Escalades, WOW!! GM was just getting all its ducks to line up.
I ordered my corvette 7/26…..seems this has been poor marketing on GM’s part….Don’t advertise what ya haven’t even come close producing on timely schedule.1st the Strike,now the virus……Explain how car of the year can turn into such a fiasco…
Let’s see,pay Full MSRP,than wait 11/ 12 months for a car built in the states…