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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 S outh Korea at half capacity for one week as it struggles with the ongoing semiconductor shortage that has already impacted production at F ord Motor Co., S tellantis and others globally . On F eb. 8 , GM will idle the following plants―which run two shifts― for a week: • F airfax Assembly and S tamping Plant in Kansas City , KS : About 2,000 hourly workers build the Chev -
rolet Malibu sedan and Cadillac X T4 S UV • CAMI, Ingersoll, Ontario Canada: About 1,5 00 hourly workers build the Chev rolet Eq uinox S UV • S an Luis Potosí , Mexico: GM builds Chev rolet Eq uinox and Trax and GMC Terrain S UVs S ome related GM plants that supply engines and other parts to the plants to be idled may be minorly impacted. F or example, the engine plant at GM’ s S pring Hill Assembly complex will reduce a shift on one See Semiconductor Shortage, Page 16
States Revive Push for Virus Liability Protections for Employers by Chris Marr, Bloomberg Law
More than a doz en states at the start of the 2021 legislativ e season are renewing a push to shield businesses from lawsuits ov er customers’ or employ ees’ COVID-19 exposure. F rom F lorida to Montana, state lawmakers hav e declared liability protections to be a top priority this y ear. Republican lawmakers are mostly leading the charge, but in a few cases they ’ re coordinating with Democratic legislators or gov ernors. If these states enact liability shields, they would j oin more than a
doz en others that did so in 2020. These state laws broadly shield all or most ty pes of businesses from coronav irus-related liability lawsuits, unless a plaintiff can show the company was grossly negligent or guilty of intentional misconduct. After a federal proposal championed by S enate Republicans failed to win approv al, the attention is back on the states and expected to stay there, now that Democrats will control both chambers of Congress and the W hite House as of Jan. 20. “W e do not anticipate liability See Virus Liability Protections, Page 19
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AUTOBODYNEWS.COM Vol. 39 / Issue 3 / 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 Jan. 25 , President Joe Biden issued an executiv e order on Ensuring the F uture Is Made in All of America by All of America’ s W orkers. The order is part of his “B uild B ack B etter Recov ery Plan” to strengthen American manufacturing and has potentially far-reaching effect. The order will tighten the federal gov ernment’ s req uirements to buy American products, support American j obs and rationaliz e the enforcement of the country ’ s patchwork of
“Made in America” laws. Companies that supply goods and serv ices to the federal gov ernment may no longer benefit from statutes like “B uy American.” The Jan. 25 order will tighten agencies’ purchasing by increasing domestic content req uirements and close loopholes for determining country of origin under Made in America laws. Companies that benefit from domestic preferences now must re-examine whether they will continue to benefit under the proposed new regulations. Contractors and subcontracSee Buy American Act, Page 18
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 about any school’ s colli- or in danger of being 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 number of such programs. S / P2, he said, which offers online safety and pollution prev ention training used by 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 be other procedures such as researching diagnostic codes and system initializations blamed on the pandemic; the number of students in the first Collision Industry Confer- automotiv e serv ice or heav y -duty truck training programs who took S / ence (CIC) of 2021, held v irtually P2 training rose by as much as 2% in online in January . G eorg e Arrants of the AS E 2020 compared to the prev ious y ear. Education F oundation said his orArrants also said of the more ganiz ation is seeking information See Schools and Scans, Page 20 by John Yoswick
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