General Motors may stop testing future employees for cannabis

The manufacturer of Chevrolet and Cadillac cars is having trouble recruiting. And it may just have found the solution to attract crowds back to its Flint, Michigan plant: stop testing job applicants for cannabis. Currently, General Motors (GM) takes a hair sample during job interviews, which can detect cannabis use several weeks back.

«When people are queuing up to find work, then there's no problem with testing for cannabis. But if you don't have enough applicants, then screening might discourage people from applying with us.», says Eric Welter, GM's Flint plant manager. in the Detroit Free Press.

This is despite the fact that the automaker pays its workers $16 (13.5 euros) an hour, while the minimum wage in Michigan is $10 (8.5 euros) an hour. The idea of stopping cannabis testing is therefore gaining ground at the group's Detroit headquarters. «It's a subject that is discussed internally».», confirmed a GM spokesperson to the local newspaper.

Amazon also stops screening

Sober employees are understandable in a plant where the production lines require constant concentration. But GM needs to recruit nearly 800 people this summer, in particular to manufacture its current star, the huge Chevrolet Silverado pickup.

According to management, most young people who learn about cannabis testing simply don't show up for their job interview. In Michigan, for example, a large number of young people smoke cannabis. State legalized pot in 2019.

The carmaker is not the only group to stop looking for traces of cannabis in its applicants. Amazon has turned the corner, in early June. «In the past, like many employers, we disqualified cannabis-positive people. However, in view of recent legal developments in the United States, we have changed our mind.», announced the e-commerce giant in a publication on his blog.