Ford Motor Company is delaying the restart of production at its North America plants as the impact of the coronavirus lingers in the U.S.
Ford originally stated that it was going to suspend production of its plants until at least the end of March, but will now push that date well into April.
“The health and safety of our workforce, dealers, customers, partners and communities remains our highest priority,” said Kumar Galhotra, president of North America for Ford. “We are working very closely with union leaders — especially at the UAW — to develop additional health and safety procedures aimed at helping keep our workforce safe and healthy.”
The Rawsonville Components plant will restart the week of April 20 to produce Model A-E ventilators in collaboration with GE Healthcare and paid volunteer United Auto Worker (UAW) employees. The ventilators will address most COVID-19 patients and Ford expects to scale up production to 50,000 ventilators by July 4.
When the plant comes online, workers will have to self-certify online every day to make sure they are not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. If they are experiencing symptoms, they will not be allowed to work. Workstations will also be spaced at least 6 ft apart to maintain social distancing requirements.
