GM and Ventec Delivering First Ventilators to FEMA This Week—Ahead of Schedule

General Motors and medical tech company Ventec Life Systems will deliver their first ventilators to FEMA this week—ahead of schedule and the initial batch of a total of 30,000 being built under an emergency deal with the U.S. government, their CEOs said. A total of 6,132 will be available by June 1 with the rest delivered by the end of August. Under the partnership, which was announced March 27, Ventec moved its ventilator production into GM’s Kokomo, Indiana, plant. The companies received the first contract for ventilators under the Defense Production Act, which Donald Trump invoked in late March. GM CEO Mary Barra said, “It’s great American industry and innovation, but the real fuel for it is our people. Many of these people have been working virtually around the clock, 20-hour days, to make sure we can start building ventilators as quickly as possible.” Barra said the workers are being compensated and that there are plans to recognize them further once the pandemic is over.