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GM to Idle 3 Plants in North America Due to Semiconductor Shortage by Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press
G eneral M otors is idling three of its assemb ly plants in North America and running a fourth in S outh K orea at half capacity for one week as it struggles with the ongoing semiconductor shortage that has already impacted production at F ord M otor C o., S tellantis and others glob ally . O n F eb . 8 , G M will idle the following plants―which run two shifts― for a week: • F airfax Assemb ly and S tamping P lant in K ansas C ity , K S : Ab out 2, 000 hourly workers b uild the C hev -
rolet M alib u sedan and C adillac X T4 S U V • C AM I, Ingersoll, O ntario C anada: Ab out 1, 5 00 hourly workers b uild the C hev rolet E q uinox S U V • S an L uis P otosí , M exico: G M b uilds C hev rolet E q uinox and Trax and G M C Terrain S U V s S ome related G M plants that supply engines and other parts to the plants to b e idled may b e minorly impacted. F or example, the engine plant at G M ’ s S pring Hill Assemb ly complex will reduce a shift on one See Semiconductor Shortage, Page 26
States Revive Push for Virus Liability Protections for Employers by Chris Marr, Bloomberg Law
M ore than a doz en states at the start of the 2021 legislativ e season are renewing a push to shield b usinesses from lawsuits ov er customers’ or employ ees’ C O V ID -19 exposure. F rom F lorida to M ontana, state lawmakers hav e declared liab ility protections to b e a top priority this y ear. Repub lican lawmakers are mostly leading the charge, b ut in a few cases they ’ re coordinating with D emocratic legislators or gov ernors. If these states enact liab ility shields, they would join more than a
doz en others that did so in 2020. These state laws b roadly shield all or most ty pes of b usinesses from coronav irus-related liab ility lawsuits, unless a plaintiff can show the company was grossly negligent or guilty of intentional misconduct. After a federal proposal championed b y S enate Repub licans failed to win approv al, the attention is b ack on the states and expected to stay there, now that D emocrats will control b oth chamb ers of C ongress and the W hite House as of J an. 20. “ W e do not anticipate liab ility See Virus Liability Protections, Page 28
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AUTOBODYNEWS.COM Vol. 11 / Issue 12 / March 2021
President Biden Signs Executive Order to Strengthen Buy American Act Provisions by Roger Abbott and Karl Means at Miles & Stockbridge P.C.
O n J an. 25 , P resident J oe Biden issued an executiv e order on E nsuring the F uture Is M ade in All of America b y All of America’ s W orkers. The order is part of his “ B uild B ack B etter Recov ery P lan” to strengthen American manufacturing and has potentially far-reaching effect. The order will tighten the federal gov ernment’ s req uirements to b uy American products, support American job s and rationaliz e the enforcement of the country ’ s patchwork of
“ M ade in America” laws. C ompanies that supply goods and serv ices to the federal gov ernment may no longer benefit from statutes like “ B uy American.” The J an. 25 order will tighten agencies’ purchasing b y increasing domestic content req uirements and close loopholes for determining country of origin under M ade in America laws. Companies that benefit from domestic preferences now must re-examine whether they will continue to benefit under the proposed new regulations. C ontractors and sub contracSee Buy American Act, Page 20
Schools and Scans Among Topics Addressed at CIC on upcoming meeting dates for any industry adv isory committees for A new position statement related collision repair training programs at to what is―and isn’t―included in any U.S. schools―particularly for v ehicle scan charges, and a plea for any such program that is struggling information ab out any school’ s colli- or in danger of b eing closed. sion repair training programs that is Arrants contends “ the pipeline struggling, were among the topics at containing the future workforce is collapsing,” offering some indirect ev idence of a not insignificant decline in the numb er of such programs. S / P 2, he said, which offers online safety and pollution prev ention training used b y some automotiv e training programs, reported 22, 7 3 5 collision repair students took the training in 2020, down nearly 3 7 % ASA is drafting a position statement indicating that a from 2019 . charge for a vehicle scan is distinct from charges for That decline can’ t b e other procedures such as researching diagnostic codes and system initializations b lamed on the pandemic; the numb er of students in the first Collision Industry Confer- automotiv e serv ice or heav y -duty truck training programs who took S / ence (C IC ) of 2021, held v irtually P 2 training rose b y as much as 2% in online in J anuary . George Arrants of the AS E 2020 compared to the prev ious y ear. E ducation F oundation said his orArrants also said of the more ganiz ation is seeking information See Schools and Scans, Page 24 by John Yoswick
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