Ford's Chicago Plant Stops Production for Second Straight Day--2nd Update
May 20 2020 - 3:54PM
Dow Jones News
By Ben Foldy and Mike Colias
Ford Motor Co. stopped assembly lines at key factories in
Chicago and Michigan on Wednesday -- the company's second straight
day of disrupted output -- as the auto industry struggles to resume
work after a two-month shutdown from the Covid-19 outbreak.
Ford sent Chicago Assembly Plant workers home late Wednesday
morning, two people familiar with the matter said. The work
stoppage came after a Lear Corp. factory in nearby Hammond, Ind.,
that makes seats for the Ford factory idled its assembly lines, the
people said.
Also Wednesday, Ford temporarily closed a pickup-truck plant in
Dearborn, Mich., near its headquarters, after a worker at the plant
tested positive for Covid-19, a company spokeswoman said. Work is
expected to resume Wednesday night after part of the factory is
disinfected, she said.
The Dearborn plant is one of two factories that make the F-150
pickup, Ford's biggest moneymaker. The Chicago plant makes the Ford
Explorer sport-utility vehicle, one of the company's most popular
models, along with the Lincoln Aviator SUV.
The Ford spokeswoman said the company believes the workers
already were infected when they returned to the job.
"Due to incubation time, we know these employees did not
contract Covid-19 while at work," the spokeswoman said. "Our
protocols are in place to help stop the spread of the virus."
The reason for the closure of the Lear plant couldn't be
learned. A spokesman for Lear didn't immediately respond to
requests for comment.
The closures come after Detroit's auto makers on Monday began
restarting their U.S. factories, which were idled around March 20
as the coronavirus pandemic took hold. The companies have spent
several weeks preparing measures to ensure a safe work environment.
They include temperature checks, plastic barriers between work
stations and even electronic bracelets that beep if an employee
violates social-distancing rules.
Executives and analysts have warned that the industry's restart
will be slow and complex, including the risk of infections popping
up at auto makers' factories and at those of suppliers.
The car companies have resumed operations with far fewer workers
making vehicles in extremely small volumes as they gradually resume
operations. Executives have said production will start slowly as
workers familiarize themselves with safety measures, parts trickle
in from suppliers and machinery is tested after the long idle
period.
The two Ford employees had passed an initial temperature check
when they arrived for their shifts on Tuesday, the company
spokeswoman said. It was unclear how they later tested positive
during their work shifts, she said. Employees who had close contact
with the workers were asked to self-quarantine for two weeks.
Ford experienced a troubled rollout last year of a redesigned
Explorer and the Aviator, a new SUV model, after a major overhaul
of the Chicago factory. Executives cited the problematic launch as
a major reason that Ford fell short of its profit target in 2019,
but have said the factory now is operating smoothly.
Write to Ben Foldy at Ben.Foldy@wsj.com and Mike Colias at
Mike.Colias@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 20, 2020 16:39 ET (20:39 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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