Ford is preparing to reopen its closed factories next month with strict health checks.
CNBC’s Michael Wayland reported the news:
Ford Motor expects to begin calling back salaried employees who have been working remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic beginning in late June, executives said Thursday.
About 124,000 white-collar workers are expected to be in the “final group” of employees to return to their offices, according to Ford Chief Human Resources Officer Kiersten Robinson. She said employees will gradually return starting in late June and into early July.
Plant workers are expected to gradually return to work as early as next month as the company plans to begin reopening its U.S. plants in the second quarter. The facilities have been shut down since last month due to Covid-19.
Peter Valdes-Dapena from CNN wrote:
General Motors and Ford laid out plans for restarting their US factories while, at the same time, attempting to protect workers from the coronavirus.
Both companies detailed how they would thoroughly clean facilities and allot extra time between work shifts to do so. The automakers said they will also screen employees with questionnaires before they leave for work and temperature checks as they enter a plant or other facilities.
Employees who have recently been exposed to someone with the coronavirus or exhibit a high temperature or other Covid-19-related symptoms will be sent to local clinics for testing before they are allowed to return to work.
Reuters’ Ben Klayman noted:
Ford Motor Co (F.N) on Thursday outlined the safety measures it will institute to restart its most profitable U.S. plants amid the coronavirus pandemic, expanding on similar efforts by General Motors Co (GM.N) and Fiat Chrysler (FCHA.MI)(FCAU.N) to convince leaders of the United Auto Workers union to send members back to work.
The UAW so far has not agreed to endorse reopening U.S. auto plants, even as workers in Europe and Asia are going back to their jobs. Virtually all U.S. automotive production ground to a halt in March as the number of COVID-19 infections grew rapidly.
