- When Automotive Assembly Plants Close, Deaths from Opioid Overdoses Rise. The findings highlight fading economic opportunity as a driving factor in the ongoing national opioid epidemic, and build on previous research that links declining participation in the labor force to increased opioid use https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2019/december/when-automotive-assembly-plants-close-deaths-from-opioid-overdoses-rise 8 comments science