US car manufacturing giant Ford will begin a gradual resumption of production in North America on May 18, implementing robust safety and care measures, the company said in a press release
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th May, 2020) US car manufacturing giant Ford will begin a gradual resumption of production in North America on May 18, implementing robust safety and care measures, the company said in a press release.
"Ford is planning to resume production and operations in North America beginning May 18, taking a phased approach. Ford will also begin returning some team members whose jobs cannot be done remotely such as vehicle testing and design, to work beginning May 18, including approximately 12,000 personnel in North America. Ford parts distribution centers will resume full operations in North America on May 11 to support Ford dealers in providing service to keep vehicles on the road," the press release read.
According to the statement, the company has taken the necessary measures to ensure employee safety, including by providing personal protective equipment and by making facility modifications to increase social distancing.
"We have reopened our facilities in China, successfully begun our phased restart in Europe and have been producing medical equipment in Michigan for more than six weeks and are using the lessons from all of that to ensure we are taking the right precautions to help keep our workforce here safe," Jim Farley, Ford's chief operating officer, said, as quoted in the press release.
In mid-March, Ford, along with General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, agreed with the US United Auto Workers association to partially suspend the operation of their plants in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11. To date, more than 3.8 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, and nearly 270,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
