Two employees tested positive earlier this month, and the company shut the Cole Engineering Center on September 10.
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General Motors didn’t idle its Warren, Michigan, engineering hub because of a strike, chip shortage, or supply snag. This time the culprit is Legionnaires’ disease. The building, just north of Detroit, houses about 10,000 people working on future cars and tech programs.
GM’s closure runs at least through September 22
GM said it acted after being contacted by the Macomb County Health Department.
The automaker stressed that routine testing turned up zero signs of Legionella bacteria in the facility itself, but ordered an outside firm to comb through its water and air systems anyway.
Other buildings on the 710-acre campus remain open.
County health director Andrew Cox explained that the two sick employees didn’t work together
Investigators are looking at shared spaces like cafeterias or break rooms as possible crossover points.
More than 120 samples have been collected so far, and every one tested has come back negative. Results from the rest are pending, Bloomberg shared.
Legionnaires’ is a type of pneumonia that spreads when contaminated vapor gets into the lungs
Healthy people usually don’t catch it, but older adults, smokers, and anyone with weakened immune systems face higher risks.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about one in ten infections prove fatal, though most cases respond to antibiotics.
The auto industry hasn’t seen many situations like this
GM hasn’t had to close such a large white-collar site over a health scare before.
Other outbreaks in Michigan are tied to nursing homes and public buildings. Outside the industry, a 2022 cluster in New York’s Harlem neighborhood infected more than 100 people and killed seven, leading to stricter rules for cooling towers there.
For now, GM engineers are sidelined not by a labor dispute or delayed parts shipment, but by bacteria that might not even be in the building. The company is waiting on final test results before anyone returns, and not before the 22nd.
