Pentagon wants Ford and General Motors to ‘help war effort’ by making weapons and military supplies as stocks rapidly become depleted | 15 April 2026 | The Trump administration is in talks with automakers and other large-scale American manufacturers in hopes that they’ll agree to build more weaponry and military equipment, The Wall Street Journal reported. Senior officials at the Department of War have spoken with Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors and the chief executive of Ford Motor, Jim Farley, according to people familiar with the matter. GE Aerospace and Oshkosh, a vehicle and machinery maker, were also involved in these talks, which were described as preliminary and wide-ranging. Defense officials are concerned that the U.S. is depleting its stock of weaponry and have asked firms if they can rapidly shift to a war-time production footing, a role American companies assumed during World War II.