Honda, FCA planned to restart factories in the US; GM, Ford still unsure

KUALA LUMPUR: The global health crisis has impacted the automakers severely. Being involved in the manufacturing of non-essential products, the firms have to suspend their factories for the safety of their employees and customers. As of now, the US has the highest number of positive coronavirus cases in the world. The government extended the guidelines aimed at slowing the coronavirus spread by the end of this month. Following the anticipation, the Fiat Chrysler and Honda have planned to resume production in the US and Canada from starting May.

The company official at FCA stated that during the halt phase, the firm is working with the government unions to execute new methods of working aims to certify the employees’ wellness. The company is expanding the cleaning protocols at all locations and redesigning the work stations to maintain proper social distancing. "As a result of these actions, we will only restart operations with safe, secure and sanitized workplaces to protect all of our employees," the official added.

The Japanese automaker Honda has also extended the production suspension of its automobile, engine, and transmission plants in North America until May 1. The manufacturing was initially suspended on March 23 for just six days. Later on, it was extended till April 7, and this time delayed until May 1.

On the other side, some automakers like Ford and General Motors are not sure about their resumption plans and still monitoring the situation. Ford states that restart plans depend on the pandemic situation in the coming weeks, national restrictions at that time, supply constraints, and also the ability of dealers’ network.

Due to pandemic, automakers’ revenues are frozen, which resulted in pay-cuts as well as layoffs all around the world.

Also read: Impact of Coronavirus on the global auto industry: Daily Roundup