General Motors
In 1908, William Durant, who had purchased Buick Motors in 1904, came upon the notion that auto manufacturers were more likely to succeed if they worked together under one umbrella corporation. He formed the General Motors Company in Flint, Michigan and by 1910 had acquired 17 auto manufacturers, including Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Cadillac. Forced by bankers to resign that same year, Durant later regained his seat at the helm of General Motors when he and Louis Chevrolet formed an auto maker and a financing company, General Motors Acceptance Corporation, which is known today as Ally Financial.
Seeking to diversify and vertically integrate, General Motors began acquiring parts manufacturers, such as Hyatt Roller Bearing and businesses in other sectors like Frigidaire. The industry leader by the late 1920s, the company began acquiring companies overseas and expanded into locomotives, home appliances and military defense products as World War II loomed.
Over the last few decades, beginning in the 1970s with competition from Japanese auto makers and a global oil crisis, General Motors suffered tumultuous times. Massive layoffs, plant closures, strikes and class action lawsuits as well as under-performing subsidiaries have all taken their toll on the company. Now based in Detroit, the economic crisis of 2008-2010 crushed the company, requiring it to be bailed out by the U.S. government.
General Motors and Asbestos
From the 1930s through the 1980s, General Motors utilized asbestos due to its flexibility and extremely high melting point as a friction material in brakes, brake linings and clutch linings that it and its subsidiaries manufactured. Apart from brake components that it made, General Motors also utilized asbestos in other parts that it purchased or manufactured, including adhesives, gaskets, electrical parts and adhesives
Past air quality tests at General Motors manufacturing facilities indicated asbestos particle concentrations in numerous areas throughout the plants. The areas that demonstrated the highest concentrations of asbestos particulates were centered around clutch manufacturing and brake lining production facilities. The asbestos-containing parts manufactured or sold by General Motors included, among others:
Brakes
- Disc Brakes
- Drum Brakes
- Brake Linings
- Manual Transmission
- Automatic Transmission
- Brake Shoes for Locomotive Engines
Clutches
- Clutch Linings
- Manual Transmission
- Automatic Transmission
Individuals in a wide range of occupations faced asbestos exposure from General Motors’ products, including brake and clutch assemblers, machinists, railroad brakemen and engineers and others who worked in or near the areas where brake, clutch and other asbestos-containing components were manufactured. Mechanics who worked on, repaired or replaced asbestos-containing brakes, clutches and other friction parts on a regular basis were also susceptible to asbestos exposure.
General Motors and Asbestos Litigation
General Motors was named a defendant in many "friction claims." The friction cases involved those who worked with asbestos-containing brake pads and other products that released asbestos particles through friction. Many of those who filed cases against General Motors developed mesothelioma cancer, which may take as long as 50 years to arise from the time of asbestos exposure. Former employees of General Motors or anyone who may have worked with GM products should receive annual examinations for signs of an asbestos-related condition.
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© 2012 The Mesothelioma Center |
Last Modified Thursday, February 9th, 2012 | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy |
The information provided by The Mesothelioma Center is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Sponsored by a law firm concentrating in asbestos litigation, The Peterson Firm, LLP with offices at 1350 Connecticut Ave, NW, Fifth Floor, Washington DC 20036.
