Inside G.M.'s Race to Build Ventilators, Before Trump's Attack

[Zorro]

While much of the U.S. economy has ground to a halt because of the coronavirus outbreak, several dozen workers in orange vests and hard hats were hauling heavy equipment on Sunday at a General Motors plant in Kokomo, Ind.

The crew was part of a crash effort to make tens of thousands of ventilators, the lifesaving machines that keep critically ill patients breathing. The machines are in desperate demand as hospitals face the prospect of dire shortages. New York State alone may need 30,000 or more.

President Trump on Friday accused G.M. and its chief executive, Mary T. Barra, of dragging their feet on the project and directed his administration to force the company to make ventilators under a 1950s law. But accounts from five people with knowledge of the automaker’s plans depict an attempt by G.M. and its partner, Ventec Life Systems, a small maker of ventilators, to accelerate production of the devices.

With deaths surging as cases snowball, the two companies have moved urgently to find parts, place orders and deploy workers, the people said. Tasks that normally would take weeks or months have been completed in days. The companies expect production to begin in three weeks and the first ventilators to ship before the end of April.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/business/gm-ventilators-coronavirus-trump.html

[underpants]

1. Hmmm

He attacks “that woman from Michigan”, calls Dr. Birx by her first name, says “you people” to a female reporter, and attacks the female CEO of GM.

[blueinredohio]

4. My thoughts exactly on the women.

Also imo he found out G.M. was already ramping up to start making ventilators so he's ahead of the game by saying he forced G.M. to do it. Which makes him the hero and not G.M. (a woman)

[dalton99a]

2. Stupid fucker couldn't keep his mouth shut

But Mr. Trump’s Twitter posts appear to have unnerved other corporate leaders. A person involved in the Stop the Spread campaign said that several corporate executives who had been willing to contribute to the effort earlier had backed away for fear of ending up becoming targets for Mr. Trump as Ms. Barra had.

[underpants]

6. Who uses "leverage" (DPA threat) when someone is doing you a favor?

Trump had to preemptively punch down and say he was using the threat of exercising DPA (yet another Trump pump fake) when GM and Ventac had already agreed to do it. Okay it’s not a favor as they are being paid for it.

The key here is that GM was waiting on orders to be completed (contract) and assurance that payment was in process. Trump’s administration screwed it up so he attacked to cover.

[JHB]

3. So Trump snarls and "commands" people to do what they're already doing

Who has "Trump takes credit for something he didn't do" in their bi go card?

[gibraltar72]

5. I read the story several weeks ago about GM and Ventec

It was gonna combine GM logistics expertise with Ventecs production and start ramping up production. One of the weaknesses of our current supply chain is the trend started years ago is to just in time production. Nobody stores anything. Parts are delivered just hours before they are needed. One hiccup in the chain and you can't build shit.