GM, Ford Announce Near Completion of Ventilator Production

Several months into the coronavirus pandemic and its continuous ravaging in the United States, automakers in the country are still hard at work in mobilizing their plants to build highly needed medical gear for healthcare workers.

General Motors and Ford Motor Co. recently announced they are nearing the completion of ventilators ordered by the administration in an effort to address the coronavirus cases in the U.S. The two automakers said their respective operations have begun ramping down as they draw to a close.

Many of the ventilators produced by the two companies over the last few months went into a stockpile by the U.S. government, which will be reserved for patients with the worst cases of COVID-19 that require more invasive treatment.

At the moment, the government has an inventory of 108,000 ventilators in the said medical equipment stockpile, while 12,000 other units are being deployed at various hospitals in the country, according to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

GM, which partnered with medical equipment supplier Ventec Life Systems, is in the later stages of production. The two companies signed a $489-million contract with the federal government to produce 30,000 ventilators by the end of August. Of the target goal, 20,000 units have already been delivered, GM spokesman Jim Cain shared.

Ford, on the other hand, is under obligation to deliver 50,000 ventilators for a $336-million contract bagged by its partner General Electric Co. According to Ford spokeswoman Rachel McCleery, the Blue Oval has assembled 47,000 in total.

Earlier this year, Ford and GM said they are deploying no less than 1,500 employees to work on assembly lines for the ventilators.

GM also said it is looking to move its medical equipment operations at a facility owned by Ventec in Kokomo, Indiana on September 1 as the automaker returns to its regular production of vehicles.