Some companies really eager to get things going again
NEW YORK — As state and federal leaders tussle over when and how fast to “reopen” the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, some corporations are taking the first steps toward bringing their employees back to work. Which in many cases is easier said than done.
Detroit-area automakers, which suspended production roughly a month ago, are pushing to restart factories as states like Michigan prepare to relax their stay-at-home orders. Fiat Chrysler has already announced a May 4 gradual restart date; General Motors and Ford don’t want to be left behind.
In negotiations with the United Auto Workers union, automakers are offering to provide protective gear, frequently sanitize equipment, and to take worker temperatures to prevent anyone with a fever from entering factories. These steps, they say, have worked at repurposed factories now making medical equipment.
Matt Himes, who installs SUV doors at a GM plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, said he’s ready to get back to work. But he also fears catching the virus.
“I guess we all should worry about it, but you can’t keep us closed down forever,” said Himes, who added that it’s impossible to practice social distancing on his assembly line. “You work within 3 or 4 feet from everybody,” he said. “People right across from you, people right beside you.”
In line with White House guidelines announced last week, several states with Republican governors have begun restoring access to public spaces — not just beaches and parks, but in states like Georgia, hair salons, gyms, bowling alleys, restaurants and movie theaters as well.
Health officials fear that such moves, if not carefully planned, could fuel a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Some companies that never closed offer a cautionary tale: Meatpacking plants across the Midwest have reported hundreds of coronavirus cases among their tightly quartered workforces. Several have shuttered in an attempt to stem the spread.
Above all else, executives will need to be flexible, said Nicholas Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University. “You can have a set of plans, but those plans are going to have to be updated on a rolling basis,” he said. “The forecast is incredibly uncertain.”
Retailers, restaurants and mall operators are looking at China’s experience to see how they can reopen stores, said Meghann Martindale, global head of research at CBRE, a real estate services firm. Malls, for instance, probably won’t open food courts and big play areas for children for a while, and shopping complexes will likely limit the number of entrances to control the flow of customers.
Amazon, which drew sharp criticism for firing an employee who led a walkout to demand greater coronavirus protection for workers, now says it is developing an internal lab that could potentially provide coronavirus tests for all employees, even those without symptoms. (Amazon says the employee in question was fired for violating social-distance guidelines and other infractions.)