General Motors employees reported on their first day of work March 31, 2020 at the GM manufacturing plant in Kokomo, Indiana, where GM and Ventec Life Systems are collaborating to produce critical care fans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
GM
A former General Motors auto facility in Indiana will continue to build critical-care fans following the expected completion of a $ 489.4 million government contract this month for 30,000 of the equipment for the national facility.
GM will lease the building on its component campus in Kokomo, Indiana, to Ventec Life Systems, a company with the motorist to work with to build the fans as the first wave of Covid-19 cases in the U.S. increased this spring.
“The entire GM team stepped up and contributed to the larger good, but clearly our focus should be on auto-related manufacturing,” GM spokesman Dan Flores said Wednesday. “Ventec is the expert here. We are going to step back and they will take responsibility when the contract is completed.”
The companies are on track to complete the government’s contract for the fans by the end of the month, Flores said. The facility has so far built and delivered more than 20,000 of the devices, according to officials.
Fans were critical in saving lives during the coronavirus pandemic. While its need has increased in recent months, the health care sector is providing a second rise of Covid-19.
The companies refused to disclose the terms of the lease or how long Ventec is expected to occupy the building.
General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra (and CEO of Ventec Life Systems Chris Kiple spoke to a worker while they were traveling on April 14, 2020 at the GM factory in Kokomo, Indiana.
GM
The facility employs about 800 people, including about 70 full-time GM workers per hour who are expected to return to their previous workplace as a layoff. The remaining employees – a mix of Ventec and contract as temporary workers – are expected to continue to build the Washington-based medical equipment company on demand.
“It’s been a dynamic, fluid situation since day one,” Chris Brooks, Ventec’s Chief Strategic Officer, told CNBC about future employment. Additional details are expected to be announced when the companies sign the government contract, he said.
The companies announced they would produce the fans on March 27, after President Donald Trump criticized automaker and CEO Mary Barra for not moving quickly to produce life-saving fans and wanted “top dollar” for it.
Following the announcement, Trump instructed GM to build the devices under the Defense Production Act, a Korean War-era statute that could force certain U.S. companies to produce materials that are too scarce in times of crisis.
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