Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-07-25
GIN Steps Up
Defense Output
Continued from Page One)

craft engines, parts, and equip
ment valued at SEQ, 100000, guns,
shells and related items worth
81 800 900. and other products
valued at Sl,000,000.
Included in the total figure are
S45, 100 600 worth of trucks and
transport equipment produced for
Canada.
Sloan pointed out that OF the
81 200, 100000 in defense products,
fully % per cent are outside GINS
normal activities and that 90 per
cent are outside Of the normal
area of production of the autom0.
bile industry.
The remaining ten per cent,
he said. comprises the manufac-
ture of trucks.
what this means Il that the
automotive industry's most i'm
portant contribution 10 the cause
OF national defense consists
Of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
and technical.
'In other words, the knowl-
edge and ability 10 produce the
things that are needed are avail
able, hut the means TO produce
those things. the productive ca
pacity-plants, machinery, and
the essential equipment must
be created specifically for the
purpose.
These are not available ex-
cept to minor degree. All
OF which simply reflects the
limitations Of the process OF
mass production"
EMPLOYMENT PROBLEM
Touching upon the problem Of the
dislocation of employment within
the industry by the substitution
of defense work for auto produc-
ton and by the curtailment of
production. Sloan said:
AT the end OF June. 1871.
General Motors was employing
In the United States and
Canada approximately 100000
hourly wage earners-those di-
rectly concerned with produc-
ton itself There were within
this group approximately $4,000
employed In defense production.
'In other words. IA per cent of
General Motors productive
workers were engaged as OF
that date In the interest Of ma
tiOnal defense. Thus again are
seen the limitations imposed by
the relative inflexibility of mass
production.
The peak OF defense produc-
ton by General Motors, as
measured by obligations already
assumed or under negotiation,
cannot be reached until toward
the end Of 1912. Full prOduc-
ton facilities being created will
not he available until then.
This ~ on the assumption
that the essential machinery
and toOling for the plants al
ready under construction, and
now contemplated, are made
available TO the corporation i'm
harmony with the scheduled de-
velopment OF each individual
project.
ut IN believed that ID should
be perfectly clear from what has
just been said, based upon the
corporations operating statistics,
that, aside from the question of
priority Of materials, or how
ever essential the objective
might be, any reduction In the
production OF the autOmotive in
dustry cannot possibly result In
any measurable acceleration In
the production Of materials for
national defense so far as Gen
eral Motors operations are con-
cerned.
PREDICTS UNEMPLOYMENT
"It will in all likelihood result
In the temporary unemployment
of large numbers Of productive
workers now employed by Cen
eral Motors. The reason IL
simple.
THE plants under construction
by General Motors, essential for
producing the things needed for
defense, are only just beginning
to reach the point when they can
absorb materials and employ
workers. And other plants are
Just being started"