US Automakers To Shut North American Plants Due To Virus: Union

New York, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Mar, 2020 ) :US automakers will temporarily shut down North American production as the economic hit from the coronavirus spreads to manufacturing, the auto workers union said Wednesday.

General Motors and Ford will halt operations throughout North America through March 30, the companies announced in a statement with the United Auto Workers.

Fiat Chrysler, the third member of the "Big 3," had also agreed to temporarily suspend production, a UAW spokesman said.

The move comes only hours after the "Big Three" had previously announced that the plants would be kept open with modified procedures to employ social distancing in manufacturing.

"GM and the UAW have always put the health and safety of the people entering GM plants first, and we have agreed to a systematic, orderly suspension of production to aid in fighting COVID-19/coronavirus," said GM Chief Executive Mary Barra.

"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."Ford closed an assembly plant in Michigan Wednesday morning after an employee tested positive and "is thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the building," the statement said.

"Today's action is the prudent thing to do. By taking a shutdown and working through next steps, we protect UAW members, their families and the community," UAW President Rory Gamble said in a statement with Ford.