General Motors Co. has a virus-induced problem with absenteeism at its vital truck plants just when it needs every single body it can get on the assembly line.
GM is working feverishly to replenish supplies of the in-demand pickups and full-sized SUVs after idling its U.S. factories from late-March through mid-May amid the coronavirus pandemic.
To alleviate the problem, GM told union leaders at Arlington Assembly in Texas, Flint Assembly in Michigan and Fort Wayne Assembly that it will be adding hundreds of permanent workers to the plants. They will not be new hires, but rather GM workers laid off at other plants who will be given the chance to permanently transfer to one of the truck facilities.
Flint Assembly, where GM builds its full-size heavy-duty pickups, is running at full capacity. Workers usually hit the daily production target, but sometimes they fall short by a dozen or so, said Eric Welter, UAW Local 598 shop chairman at the plant.