GM To Create 30,000 Ventilators With $490M Contract

MICHIGAN — General Motors will be creating 30,000 ventilators after agreeing to a $489.4 million contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The agreement is the first contract for ventilator production under the Defense Production Act. The ventilators are to be delivered to the Strategic National Stockpile by the end of August, with a production schedule allowing for the delivery of more than 6,100 ventilators by June 1.

The rating of the contract under the Defense Production Act followings President Donald Trump's direction to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to invoke the Defense Production Act on March 27.

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“Invoking the Defense Production Act to secure ventilator production from GM and other companies is a part of President Trump’s all-of-America approach to combating the coronavirus," Azar said in a statement. "By rating contracts under the DPA, HHS is helping manufacturers like GM get the supplies they need to produce ventilators as quickly as possible, while also ensuring that these ventilators are routed through the Strategic National Stockpile to where they’re needed most.

"The Trump Administration has deployed thousands of ventilators from the Strategic National Stockpile that have helped save lives in hotspots such as New York so far. We’re grateful to the GM team for working with the federal government to expand our nation’s supply of ventilators as the pandemic evolves.”

Last week, General Motors announced it had already begun manufacturing ventilator face masks that it hopes to have delivered this week.

It is unclear which General Motors locations will begin manufacturing the respirators. Patch has reached out to General Motors for additional information.