Did General Dynamics reject the vaccine mandate from the federal government after 40% of its employees threatened to walk away if the mandate was implemented? No, that's not true: A General Dynamics spokesperson said that the claim is untrue and the company has yet to make an announcement about a vaccine mandate for its employees. The spokesperson added that General Dynamics is waiting for detailed instructions from the federal government about what federal contractors have to do in regards to vaccinations.
The claim appeared in a tweet (archived here) posted on September 17, 2021. The tweet read:
"🚨🚨BREAKING🚨🚨: General Dynamics Corporation CANCELS Vaccine mandate after roughly 40% of employees decline the jab & threaten to walk."
This is what the post looked like on Twitter at the time of writing:
(Source: Twitter screenshot taken on Tue Sep 21 20:00:57 2021 UTC)
General Dynamics employs 84,000 people in the United States and will likely be under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's upcoming rule that large employers must mandate vaccines or require weekly COVID tests for its employees.
A General Dynamics spokesperson responded to Lead Stories' email September 21, 2021, asking about the claim and what the company planned to do with the vaccine instructions given by the federal government. General Dynamics replied:
No, the rumors circulating on social media are untrue. To date we have made no announcements about vaccine mandates for employees. We are awaiting detailed guidance from the federal government about its vaccine mandate for federal contractors.
Asked about the 40% figure in the claim, the spokesperson said he had "no idea" where the number came from.
