Workers assemble components for General Motors Co. (GM) Chevrolet 2019 Silverado HD and 2019 GMC … [+]
Detroit Three automakers and the United Auto Workers have agreed to partially reduce production and limit the number of workers on the plant floor at any given time to curb the risk from the coronavirus outbreak.
The companies and union came to an agreement late Tuesday after UAW President Rory Gamble released a letter questioning the automakers’ commitment to protecting plant workers. The UAW said it would take steps on its own had the companies not come up with a plan acceptable to the union.
The automakers will take longer breaks between shifts to allow for more intensive cleaning. They also will work to maintain a safe distance between workers on the line.
As in many industries, the pandemic and employers’ response to it has revealed a contrast between the flexibility of office workers, who often can work remotely from home, and manufacturing workers, including janitors, whose jobs are tied to being at factories.
It’s not possible to assemble products as complex as cars and trucks through computers alone.
This agreement enables Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler to continue production of their most profitable models such as pickup trucks and large SUVs. Shutting production completely would have cost the automakers billions in lost revenue, depending on the length of the national response to the COVID-10 pandemic.
At the same time, they likely would have to cut production eventually as vehicle sales will inevitably slow as Americans stay home and, in many cases, lose their jobs for an unknown period.
Ford said Tuesday it will temporarily stop making SUVs at its Chicago assembly plant due to a shortage of parts.
The automaker also said that a product development worker at its Dearborn campus had tested positive for the coronavirus, but he had been working remotely.
GM said Monday that a worker at its technical center in Warren, Michigan, tested positive for COVID-19. The company is working with local officials to clean the area where he worked and asked some employees in the immediate area to self-quarantine for 14 days.
The only reported incident of a UAW member testing positive happened at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plant in Indiana. But an FCA spokeswoman said production continued.
FCA said Monday it is stopping production at most of its European plants, several of which are in Italy, which has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic.
