General Motors CEO Mary Barra will visit some of the automaker’s U.S. assembly plants starting this week to observe how they are operating amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to The Detroit Free Press, Barra plants to visit GM’s Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan this Wednesday alongside GM’s vice president of manufacturing, Gerald Johnson. After that, Barra and Johnson will embark on a U.S. tour of GM facilities, visiting over 30 of its manufacturing plants in the coming weeks. GM President Mark Reuss will also join Barra and Johnson for some of the visits.
In a statement, GM spokesman David Barnas said the visits will be focused on worker safety and analyzing the various safety protocols it has put in place at the plants to protect workers from contracting COVID-19.
“Our senior leaders visit our plants for a variety of reasons and these visits are focused on employee health and safety and our return to work protocols,” Barnas explained.
Mark Reuss
Some GM production plants came back online on Monday, May 18th following COVID-19 driven shutdowns. The automaker has implemented a number of safety protocols at the plants to protect workers, which include taking employees’ temperatures as they enter the facility, providing them with the proper PPE and frequently sanitizing work stations and employee common areas. Social distance measures have also been put in place where possible.
A private Facebook post by the plant manager at Lansing Delta Township and surfaced by The Detroit Free Press indicates Mary Barra is interested in getting employee feedback on the effectiveness of the new safety protocols.
Gerald Johnson
“Mary and Gerald would be interested in hearing your questions related to the company overall, the market, industry trends, company strategy and GM’s beliefs and values,” the Facebook post said. “Although this visit is focused on health and safety, Mary and Gerald are very willing to answer any question related to GM. Based on the feedback I am hearing, I think our start up has gone pretty well overall.”
The Lansing Delta Township plant builds both the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave crossovers. Roughly 2,500 people work there when the plant is running at full capacity. GM is expected to slowly bring its plants back online in the coming weeks, though it said previously it wants to be back running at full capacity in less than four weeks.
Among the GM plants that restarted this week, in addition to Lansing Delta Township, are Flint Assembly, Fort Wayne Assembly, Spring Hill Manufacturing and Lake Orion Assembly, among several others. Some plants, such as Bowling Green Assembly in Kentucky, will restart next week.
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Comments
No one is wearing a mask. Why?
Mary’s heading China first then Mexico. She plans to hit one of the few US plants by late summer. She’s a true patriot.