As factories that normally wouldn't produce medical necessities continue to close around the country, many companies are starting to step up and help out the medical community in a time of need. One of those companies is the GM plant in Warren, MI. According to WXYZ, General Motors announced plans to produce face masks on a massive scale this month as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads throughout the United States.

GM had scrambled to start making face masks and produced their first samples on March 20th. By next week they are expected to deliver around 20,000. 30 buyers, designers, engineers, and manufacturing team members were given the task of product development so that an estimated 1.5 million masks can be produced within a month's time. Peter Thom, GM vice president, Global Manufacturing Engineering, spoke about the ingenuity it took for his team to accomplish the change:

Our team began looking at ways we could quickly utilize our talents and resources to help in the shared fight against COVID-19. Working around the clock, our team rallied with incredible passion and focus to come up with a plan to produce masks that will help protect the women and men on the front lines of this crisis.

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