Covid-19: Ford production in the US off to a patchy restart as infections, parts shortages force closures

Covid-19: Ford production in the US off to a patchy restart as infections, parts shortages force closures

Things aren’t all going to plan for Ford, which restarted production at its North American facilities on May 18 after shutting them down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Barely had production resumed that the automaker was forced to close two of its assembly plants earlier this week, Reuters reports.

The company closed its Dearborn, Michigan factory on Tuesday due to a positive Covid-19 test by one worker, but production was set to resume the following day. The plant builds the F-150 pick-up truck.

Its Chicago assembly plant, meanwhile, was closed due to shortage of parts. The plant, which assembles the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs, was also closed the day before when two workers on different shifts also tested positive.

While the company did not indicate the source of the parts shortfall, a person familiar with the matter told the news agency that Lear Corporation, which supplies automotive seating and electrical systems, had closed a plant in Hammond, Indiana, due to a positive test. Ford said that production in Chicago was also set to resume mid-week.

Not all of the Blue Oval’s production facilities have resumed. Earlier this month, the company had indicated that its Flat Rock Assembly Plant and Oakville Assembly Complex would only restart production from the week of May 25 on one shift.

The company has put in place a series of protocols and practices that all employees must follow. These include daily online health self-certifications before work, temperature scans upon arrival, mandatory use of face masks and shields, social distancing and more time between production shifts to limit interaction and allow for additional cleaning.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • vivizurianti on May 22, 2020 at 1:32 pm

    After reopening, then closing the production line is gonna cost more money and valuable time, thus losing more profit and onset of worker frustration due to start-stop incident.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
    • Aura89 on May 22, 2020 at 5:22 pm

      Clearly world-class decisionmakers aren’t so wise after all, and those who idolises them are fools.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
 

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