General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra on April 1, 2020 tours one of the company's facilities in Warren, Michigan that will produce Level 1 face masks.

General Motors is encouraging and empowering its suppliers to assist in production of medical face masks for frontline workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In a note to the suppliers on Saturday, Shilpan Amin, GM's vice president of global purchasing and supply chain, said it is making the automaker's step-by-step manufacturing plans for the personal protective equipment available to any company willing to join in the cause.

"Our ultimate goal is to get more masks to the people who desperately need them," he said in part of the message obtained by CNBC. "We also recognized it would be counterproductive if GM – or any other manufacturer – competed for supplies with existing medical-mask companies. By making available GM's production processes to our global supply base, we hope to facilitate other companies' efforts to bring more materials, more equipment and ultimately more facemasks to the community."

GM, according to a spokesman, will provided suppliers detailed specs on materials, equipment, and processes – essentially, what suppliers would need to know to ramp up their own production lines. He said the message was sent to 600 suppliers.

GM quickly set up and began testing production of Level 1 face masks last week at one of its shuttered parts plants in suburban Detroit. About two dozen paid volunteer United Auto Workers employees are expected to begin producing the masks for distribution on Monday.