BIG 3 PUT BRAKES ON AUTO ASSEMBLY
Plants in Macomb, North America closed through at least March 30
Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Honda and Toyota confirm they will temporarily shut down all North American factories due to the coronavirus threat.
Ford said its plants will shut down after Thursday evening shifts through March 30. Fiat Chrysler’s closures will start in phases on Wednesday and run through March 31. GM spokesman Jim Cain said its shutdown will start also Wednesday and last through March 30; it will take several days to complete the shutdown and operations will be evaluated weekly after that.
“We have been taking extraordinary precautions around the world to keep our plant environments safe, and recent developments in North America make it clear this is the right thing to do now,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.
The move by Detroit’s three automakers will idle about 150,000 workers. They likely will receive supplemental pay in addition to state unemployment benefits. The two checks combined will about equal what the workers normally make. Cain said the pay at GM was still being negotiated with the union.
In Macomb County, which is home to three auto plants and numerous parts suppliers, County Executive Mark Hackel says the move to shut down the plants will clearly impact the area’s economy.
“My first concern is that when the auto companies say they are shutting down, how do they put a time frame on when the facilities will re-open,” he said. “Various hospital officials and our own health department says they don’t know how long this will go on. Anyone who says they do know doesn’t know what they are talking about.”
Hackel declined to speculate on the financial losses to the industry.
“The magnitude of this, I can’t even put a number on it. That will be for history to determine. We are just trying to keep ahead of this as best we can,” he said.
Factory workers leaving FCA’s Warren Truck Assembly Plant Wednesday said they were relieved the company was taking action after days of concern expressed by the workforce and union leaders over the public health threat. They were notified either by company team leaders or union officials via text or phone calls.
“There’s so many people in there, approximately 1,500 workers per shift and that’s a lot of people in one place,” said auto worker Bernandi Cervi. “At this point, I do think it’s the right thing to do even though we as individuals have to take precautions and be responsible.
But I think they are being responsible toward their workers by shutting down.”
Another worker, Yolanda Germany, said employees have been worried about their health and safety for the past few days.
Asked what she will do during the shutdown, Germany said: “I will get some good rest. You can’t go on vacation, you can’t go anywhere, you can’t do anything, so I’ll be in the house. I’ll do some cleaning.”
Ford said it will work with leaders of the United Auto Workers union in the coming weeks on plans to restart factories. The union has been pushing for factories to close because workers are fearful of coming into contact with the virus.
Honda announced plans Wednesday morning to close for a week starting Monday, putting additional pressure on Detroit’s automakers. Toyota plants will close Monday and Tuesday, reopening Wednesday after a thorough cleaning, the company said.
In addition, Hyundai suspended production at its plant in Montgomery, Alabama, Wednesday after a worker tested positive for the coronavirus. The company said production would resume once its health and safety team determines that the plant has been sufficiently sanitized.
The decision by Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler reverses a deal worked out late Tuesday in which the three agreed to cancel some shifts so they could thoroughly cleanse equipment and buildings, but keep factories open. But workers, especially at some Fiat Chrysler factories, were still fearful and were pressuring the union to seek full closures.
Fiat Chrysler temporarily closed a factory in Sterling Heights after workers were concerned about the virus. The company said a plant worker tested positive for the coronavirus but had not been to work in over a week. One shift was sent home Tuesday night and the plant was cleaned. But that apparently didn’t satisfy workers, and two more shifts were canceled on Wednesday.
Ford said it closed an assembly plant in the Wayne County suburb of Wayne on Wednesday after a worker there tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. The company said it is thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the building. Production will be halted through March 30, the company said.
At GM’s pickup truck assembly plant in Flint, workers have been fearful ever since the virus surfaced in the U.S., said Tommy Wolikow, a union member who delivers parts to the assembly line.
Wolikow, 38, said he comes in close contact with other workers and was afraid of catching the virus and passing it to his two daughters ages 2 and 7.
“That’s the thing that I was scared the most about, being the one to bring it home to them,” he said.
He is happy that GM is closing and is hopeful that he’ll get unemployment and supplemental pay.
Automakers have resisted closing factories largely because they book revenue when vehicles are shipped from factories to dealerships. So without production, revenue dries up. Each company has other reasons to stay open as well. Ford, for instance, is building up F-150 pickup inventory because its plants will have to go out of service later this year to be retooled for an all-new model.