Stellantis Employees Complain Of 'nose Bleeds, Migraines, Vomiting, Skin Issues, Digestive Issues' After Returning To The Office Five Days A Week

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Good morning! It's Tuesday, April 28, 2026, and this is The Morning Shift, your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, Stellantis labor are getting sick successful really bizarre ways aft returning to their Michigan HQ 5 days a week, NHTSA says it's not worried astir detaching Tesla Model Y steering wheels anymore, General Motors didn't person nan champion Q1 we've ever seen and Bollinger's last chapters are being written.

There's thing very bizarre going connected wrong Stellantis' office successful Auburn Hills, Michigan, and it's not immoderate harebrained, half-baked merchandise this time. Instead, it's immoderate benignant of widespread, wide-ranging wellness concern. Apparently, Michigan wellness and information regulators person inspected nan expansive field aft getting reports that "dozens" of labor were suffering from various ailments aft returning to nan agency 5 days a week.

Folks person complained of chemoreceptor bleeds, migraines, vomiting, tegument issues, digestive issues, coughing and tiredness. All of this is apt tied to, gulp, mold. Employees person besides seen achromatic dust, mice, rats, a wide mustiness and respective flooding incidents. Following an inspection backmost successful February, nan Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration didn't mention Stellantis, but it did rumor a database of recommendations focused connected ensuring patient aerial value and preventing mold. From The Detroit News:

"Stellantis continually prioritizes nan health, information and well‑being of our employees," a connection from spokesperson Jodi Tinson said. "As portion of our modular practice, we regularly measure our workplaces to guarantee they meet aliases transcend information and biology standards. Recent assessments wrong nan agency areas confirmed a safe moving environment. Ongoing housekeeping enhancements and preventive attraction are successful spot to support worker comfortableness and well‑being."

Employee reports of biology wellness concerns wrong nan 1990s-era Stellantis office building travel arsenic nan white-collar workforce precocious was required to return to nan agency 5 days per week.

Such MIOSHA complaints astatine agency buildings and plants aren't altogether rare, including for Stellantis rivals GM and Ford. But nan Stellantis study is notable fixed that it raised respective wellness concerns astir nan automaker's office conscionable arsenic nan institution seeks to bring much workers backmost to nan office.

Previously, nan institution championed a elastic activity argumentation allowing for a mostly of clip to beryllium spent astatine home. But early past year, it asked workers to beryllium in-office astatine slightest 3 days per week. And successful January, it announced nan caller five-day argumentation that afloat took effect March 30. The institution explained that "bringing teams together to build stronger connections is simply a competitory necessity."

Stellantis told MIOSHA it had sought to hole nan building for employees' safe return by cleaning, flushing and upgrading aerial filtration systems. It besides conducted aerial value and mold testing.

From what labor successful nan building person said, immoderate Stellantis did wasn't astir enough, and nan building is still nasty capable connected nan wrong to make group sick conscionable being there.

[C]ompany representatives told regulators that they began receiving complaints arsenic soon arsenic workers started returning a twelvemonth ago, and nan number of complaints "have been significant" since nan five-day instruction came down. The taxable came up astatine a caller institution municipality hall.

The worker title sent to MIOSHA successful February alleged that "employees proceed complaining astir a multitude of illnesses and unusual symptoms and are being forced to activity from nan building each time contempt their complaints and grounds showing beingness of mold, and aesculapian impervious they are sick.

[...]

Stellantis antecedently told labor that nan aerial value trial results were satisfactory crossed nan facility. MIOSHA inspectors wrote that nan company's testing had recovered "slightly elevated" mold spore counts erstwhile compared to outdoor samples, but that nan results "generally were considered acceptable for indoor aerial quality."

Stellantis indicated to nan agency that nan somewhat higher indoor mold spore levels mightiness beryllium owed to nan facility's indoor plants.

During February's inspection, which covered respective parts of nan 15-story tower, MIOSHA said they didn't find grounds of leaks aliases moisture "that would propose sources of indoor mold maturation whitethorn beryllium coming successful nan facility." Of course, nan agency besides noted that it doesn't person a modular aliases published limits for safe levels of mold exposure, and it closed nan investigation earlier this month.

I really cannot opportunity what's going connected here, but clearly, there's an rumor if labor are getting physically sick by being successful nan office. I cognize that nary 1 wants to beryllium successful nan agency 5 days a week, but I benignant of uncertainty they're going to make themselves vomit complete it. Hopefully, Stellantis gets this rumor taken attraction of, or, astatine nan very least, nan authorities of Michigan really holds it responsible.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is closing nan books connected a probe into complete 120,000 2023 Tesla Model Ys aft uncovering nary rumor pinch nan automaker. It comes pursuing a preliminary information successful early 2023 that was spurred by 2 reports of Model Y steering wheels detaching from nan steering file because of a missing retaining bolt. Sounds for illustration a large issue, no? Well, successful NHTSA's eyes, nan problem wasn't wide-ranging capable to warrant further action.

Both cars were said to beryllium built successful nan first week of January 2023 astatine Tesla's plants successful Austin, Texas and Fremont, California. In essence, these were isolated incidents. From Reuters: 

[They] had undergone ‌end-of-line ⁠repairs earlier transportation that required nan steering instrumentality to beryllium removed and reinstalled.

The regulator said it recovered nary further incidents involving nan rumor and ​said nan ​two failures ⁠occurred wrong nan first 400 miles of driving, indicating that immoderate different affected ​vehicles would apt person already knowledgeable ​a ⁠steering instrumentality detachment.

The agency concluded that closing nan investigation does not represent a uncovering that nary safety-related ⁠defect ​exists and said it whitethorn ​take further action if caller accusation emerges.

I conjecture immoderate goofuses took nan steering wheels disconnected during those end-of-line repairs forgot to reinstall nan all-important retaining bolt. I presume these are mistakes that nan 2 individuals didn't make a 2nd time. At nan very least, I dream that's nan case.

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You triumph some, you suffer some. Somehow General Motors recovered a measurement to some triumph and suffer astatine nan aforesaid clip during 2026's first quarter. The automaker's first-quarter nett income dropped 5.7% to $2.63 cardinal arsenic it dealt pinch nan accustomed headaches: Donald Trump's tariffs and slow EV demand. 

Still, nan institution raised its full-year forecast connected the anticipation of immoderate tariff refunds, and its net earlier liking and taxes jumped 22% to $4.25 cardinal arsenic North American profits roseate 11% to $3.67 billion. However, its Q1 nett gross successful North America dropped astir a cardinal dollars to $36.4 billion. Like I said, triumph some, suffer some. From Automotive News:

Global gross was $43.6 billion, 0.9 percent little than a twelvemonth earlier, erstwhile nan institution benefited from a unreserved successful new-vehicle income by consumers looking to get up of President Donald Trump's automotive tariffs that began successful April 2025.

GM's capacity surpassed soul expectations, CEO Mary Barra said successful an April 28 missive to shareholders.

"We are intelligibly operating successful a very move environment, which isn't different for this industry," she said. "That's why we person had a multi-year attraction to guarantee we person nan correct products, nan correct squad and a beardown equilibrium expanse supported by patient rate flows to execute our semipermanent goals and consistently execute our superior allocation strategy."

GM accrued its 2026 outlook to relationship for astir $500 cardinal it expects from tariff refunds from nan Trump management aft nan U.S. Supreme Court ruled galore of its tariffs unconstitutional successful February. The institution expects a full tariff measure successful 2026 of $2.5 cardinal to $3.5 billion, down from an earlier estimate of $3 cardinal to $4 billion.

Although tariffs connected vehicles, parts, alloy and aluminum that relationship for nan bulk of what GM and different automakers salary stay successful place, companies are entitled to refunds for immoderate forbidden duties they paid. The Trump management began accepting repayment applications April 20.

The institution raised its expectations for net earlier liking and taxes by astir $500 cardinal because of nan refund adjustment, projecting EBIT of $13.5 cardinal to $15.5 cardinal this year.

Still, it lowered its nett income guidance to a scope of $9.9 cardinal to $11.4 billion, compared pinch its erstwhile estimate of $10.3 cardinal to $11.7 billion.

The General added that it was "working to right-size our artillery proviso chain" pinch its various associated task partners and said its U.S. dealers ended nan first 4th pinch astir 516,000 vehicles successful inventory. That's down 6% from nan aforesaid clip past twelvemonth as it targets little inventory to support "agility and debased inventories."

Bollinger Motors

Some constituent soon, I'll person written astir Bollinger Motors for a last time, but hopefully, coming isn't that day. Though I cognize nan extremity is near. Assets of the grounded electrical motortruck startup will beryllium auctioned nether tribunal bid aft suppliers sued complete unpaid bills. Its manufacturing instrumentality successful Oak Park, Michigan and Tunica, Mississippi, will beryllium sold connected May 13 via a webcast auction, and there's immoderate neat worldly successful location for sure. Pick done nan wreckage of immoderate people's best-laid plans. From Automotive News:

The assets see battery-testing and -validation systems, tooling, conveyance lifts, inventory and shop instrumentality arsenic good arsenic 20 B4 trucks and further vehicles.

The forced liquidation of a once-promising startup comes aft a bid of supplier complaints, including from Dana, Thyssenkrupp, Aibond, Promark Electronics Inc., Tool House, Wurth Electronics, Webb Wheel Products Inc. and others.

The institution is nether investigation by nan Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity aft dozens of complaints regarding unpaid wages aliases benefits. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. is besides seeking to recoup astir $1 cardinal of inducement rate disbursed to nan startup arsenic portion of a $3 cardinal grant announced successful 2023 erstwhile nan institution promised to put $44 cardinal and create 237 jobs successful nan Detroit area.

Last July, Bollinger Motors merged pinch its genitor company, Mullen Automotive, of Brea, Calif., nether a caller entity, Bollinger Innovations. That action consolidated operations and moved business functions from nan West Coast to Detroit.

The Bollinger Motors and Bollinger Innovations websites some appeared to beryllium defunct. Mullen's was progressive arsenic of April 27, but it was unclear what operations remained astatine nan company.

[...]

Even aft nan Trump management stripped distant taxation credits for electrical vehicles — each but destroying nan business lawsuit for nan B4, a Class 4 exemplary pinch a astir $160,000 value tag — Bollinger Innovations CEO David Michery was defiant, executing a bid of reverse banal splits to enactment NASDAQ-compliant and vowing to push forward.

Perhaps there's still immoderate vague dream for nan institution astatine immoderate point. Robert Bollinger, who founded nan institution but parted ways pinch Michery successful a nasty split, really purchased nan intelligence spot and prototypes of nan B1 and B2 trucks successful a woody that was approved by a judge successful Ohio past month.

Who knows erstwhile this communicative will officially end? Bollinger judge doesn't.

NTSB via Wikimedia Commons

History.com

It still blows my mind that Aloha 243 was capable to onshore aft being changed from a coupe into a convertible. It goes to show conscionable really awesome airplane engineering is and really talented (and quick-thinking) nan pilots connected nan formation platform had to beryllium to get it down connected nan crushed pinch a minimal nonaccomplishment of life. Seeing pictures of nan level aft it landed is benignant of mind-bending. It almost doesn't make sense. In immoderate case, if you want to study much astir nan incident, caput complete to History.com.

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Well, friends, I've sewage immoderate very bad news. We've officially cracked nan $4.17 per gallon state value grounds that was group backmost connected April 9. As nan Strait of Hormuz remains virtually closed and bid successful nan U.S. and Israel's warfare pinch Iran seems much and much unlikely, lipid prices changeable up overnight. At nan clip of publication, WTI Crude Oil futures are astir $99 and Brent Crude is astir $104.

All of this has caused nan biggest single-day jump successful state prices we've seen since nan warfare began, pinch nan mean value of a gallon of regular state going up 7 cents overnight to $4.18, according to AAA.

The past clip we saw prices this precocious was backmost successful July of 2018, according to information from nan Energy Information Administration. The mean value of a gallon of state is now up $1.20 — aliases astir 40.3% — since nan warfare first collapsed retired connected February 28, erstwhile it was $2.98.

Here's wherever nationalist mean prices guidelines correct now, according to AAA:

AAA