TIANJIN, China—Airbus broke ground on its second final assembly line in north China's Tianjin Municipality as the European aircraft manufacturer seeks expansion in the Chinese market.

NEWPORT BEACH, CA—Chipotle Mexican Grill announced it is testing an automated digital makeline in collaboration with Hyphen. Designed and built by Hyphen, the cobotic (collaborative robot) system is being tested at the Chipotle Cultivate Center in Irvine, California.

BURLINGTON, VT— On Monday, October 2, Electric aerospace company/aircraft developer Beta Technologies opened a new factory at the Burlington International Airport (KBTV) in Vermont for large-scale production of its all-electric aircraft, the Alia eCTOL and eVTOL.

On Monday, October 2, General Motors and Ford Motor said they are laying off another 500 workers at four Midwestern plants because of the impact on some of the United Auto Workers strike facilities on its 18th day. 

LOUISVILLE, KY— Tasked with determining the best way to achieve next-level quality and productivity and assure the company’s future, GE Appliances leadership realized that using the same software to interface with different measuring devices, aggregating the 3D metrology data, and efficiently putting that data in the hands of engineers who need it, was key.

LINCOLNSHIRE, England—Staff at Lincat in Lincoln are on strike over pay conditions once more, this time for a month. Employees from the commercial kitchen appliance manufacturer on Whisby Road in Lincoln previously walked out for a week at the start of September, demanding an inflation-matching rise of 9.7%.

SELMER, TN—In August 2023, GE Appliances, a Haier company, announced a $34 million investment to expand refrigeration manufacturing and create 150 new jobs at its wholly-owned subsidiary, Monogram Refrigeration, in Selmer, Tennessee. 

I’m all for auto workers getting paid, but the UAW’s demands this time around seem a bit much. I can’t see how the OEMs will be able to meet them, and I worry about the implications for the economy. The 2019 strike lasted more than a month, and a prolonged strike now could jeopardize the economic recovery.

LOS ALTOS, CA—Engineers at the Toyota Research Institute are using generative AI technology to quickly teach robots new, dexterous skills.

DAYTON, OH—Joby Aviation Inc. plans to build a $500 million factory here to produce electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.