President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act last month to force General Motors to speed up its production of ventilators, an action that has rippled through the auto supply chain as suppliers fire up the front line and transition their manufacturing processes to provide components critical to fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Many auto manufacturers are already producing personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves. But GM — now as a supplier to the federal government with a formal contract totaling $489.4 million — must satisfy the requirements imposed by the government under the act. That includes supplying 30,000 ventilators to the Strategic National Stockpile by the end of August and delivering more than 6,100 ventilators by June 1.