Keeping its lucrative full-size pickup lines chugging along has proved a challenge for General Motors, what with workers in Indiana and Michigan shying away from factories due to COVID-19 testing, contraction of the illness itself, or fear of it.
The problem isn’t solely the domain of big truck and SUV plants. The automaker also has a problem with its midsize pickup plant in Missouri, but a solution is underway.
As reported by Automotive News, GM plans to switch on the worker pipeline running from the Rust Belt to Missouri.
Earlier this month, GM said it would cut the third shift at Wentzville Assembly, home to the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, due to rising coronavirus cases in that state. The problem wasn’t a lack of demand for the midsize duo; rather, absenteeism was, like up north, increasingly becoming a problem.
It appears that the cancellation, which was to begin on July 20th, won’t happen after all. The third shift will remain, likely thanks to “imported” labor.
“Transfers from other GM locations along with the strategic use of temporary employees could be part of the Wentzville staff plan,” GM spokesman Dan Flores told AN.
While Missouri’s case count is still rising, with Wentzville’s St. Charles County among those with the most cases in the state, the county’s growth rate doesn’t rank among Missouri’s top 10.
Each Wentzville shift contains 1,250 workers. Assembling and moving the required number of workers to Missouri will take time, but GM aims to make the process a fast one.
