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GM to Idle 3 Plants in North America Due to Semiconductor Shortage by Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press
General Motors is idling three of its assembly plants in North America and running a fourth in South Korea at half capacity for one week as it struggles with the ongoing semiconductor shortage that has already impacted production at Ford Motor Co., Stellantis and others globally. On Feb. 8, GM will idle the follo in plants hi h run t o shifts for a week: • Fairfax Assembly and Stamping Plant in Kansas City, KS: About 2,000 hourly workers build the Chev-
rolet Malibu sedan and Cadillac X T4 SU V • CAMI, Ingersoll, Ontario Canada: About 1,500 hourly workers build the Chevrolet Equinox SU V • San Luis Potosí , Mexico: GM builds Chevrolet Equinox and Trax and GMC Terrain SU V s Some related GM plants that supply engines and other parts to the plants to be idled may be minorly impacted. For example, the engine plant at GM’s Spring Hill Assembly complex will reduce a shift on one See Semiconductor Shortage, Page 22
States Revive Push for Virus Liability Protections for Employers by Chris Marr, Bloomberg Law
More than a dozen states at the start of the 2021 legislative season are renewing a push to shield businesses from lawsuits over customers’ or employees’ COV ID-19 exposure. From Florida to Montana, state lawmakers have declared liability protections to be a top priority this year. Republican lawmakers are mostly leading the charge, but in a few cases they’re coordinating with Democratic legislators or governors. If these states enact liability shields, they would join more than a
dozen others that did so in 2020. These state laws broadly shield all or most types of businesses from coronavirus-related liability lawsuits, unless a plainti an sho the o pany was grossly negligent or guilty of intentional misconduct. After a federal proposal championed by Senate Republicans failed to win approval, the attention is back on the states and expected to stay there, now that Democrats will control both chambers of Congress and the White House as of J an. 20. “We do not anticipate liability See Virus Liability Protections, Page 20
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AUTOBODYNEWS.COM Vol. 10 / Issue 6 / March 2021
President Biden Signs Executive Order to Strengthen Buy American Act Provisions by Roger Abbott and Karl Means at Miles & Stockbridge P.C.
On J an. 25, President J oe Bi den issued an executive order on Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers. The order is part of his “Build Back Better Recovery Plan” to strengthen American manufacturing and has potentially far-reaching effect. The order will tighten the federal government’s requirements to buy American products, support American jobs and rationalize the enforcement of the country’s patchwork of
“Made in America” laws. Companies that supply goods and services to the federal governent ay no lon er benefit fro statutes like “Buy American.” The J an. 25 order will tighten agencies’ purchasing by increasing domestic content requirements and close loopholes for determining country of origin under Made in America laws. o panies that benefit fro domestic preferences now must re-examine whether they will continue to benefit under the proposed ne re ulations. Contractors and subcontracSee Buy American Act, Page 24
Illinois Shops Share Their ‘Lessons from the Pandemic’ surers. “Those in power are starting to squeeze, and when things turn around, Are insurers using current market they don’t like to give up whatever conditions with fewer claims to lean they picked up.” on shops to be more competitive? Mayer was one of two Chicago Illinois shop owner J oe May shop owners who shared their expeer brie y tal ed about third party riences with the pandemic during the payer pressures” during an Alliance webinar. Mayer said when work fell o last sprin he laid o four employees, until a PPP loan allowed him to bring them back to work. “After his second day back at work, one of the fellas was very ill and coughing. He didn’t look good. The guys brought it to my attention,” Mayer said. The employee was sent During a recent webinar, two Illinois shop owners shared home with pay for two days their companies’ experiences during the pandemic until his test results came of Automotive Service Providers of ba positive and he as then o Illinois ( AASP-IL) webinar in J anu- work for a month. ary focused on lessons from the pan“Fortunately, the guy was a demic. prepper, and sort of worked out on “Whatever weakness in the in- his own,” Mayer said. dustry they sense, they will try to ayer and the rest of his sta all take advantage of,” Mayer, owner of tested negative. When the employee See Illinois Shops Share, Page 16 M ay er’ s C ollision C enter, said of inby John Yoswick
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