Trump administration urges automakers to boost weapons production

The Trump administration has approached the heads of Ford, General Motors and GE Aerospace to see whether they would be willing to shift some of their factory capacity, workforce and manufacturing expertise toward producing munitions, weapons components and military vehicles. This represents a more specific outreach to major manufacturers following earlier reports of preliminary talks about expanding weapons production. The administration is seeking to leverage existing industrial capabilities to boost defense manufacturing capacity. The discussions focus on converting civilian manufacturing expertise to military production lines.