Ford has pushed back the planned restart of its plants in Europe in response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic, after shutting down production at its facilities starting on March 19. Earlier, Ford halted production at its Cologne and Saarlouis plants in Germany, as well as its Valencia, Spain, and Craiova, Romania, plants. Days later, on March 23, Ford also stopped production at its Dagenham and Bridgend plants in the U.K.
In the weeks prior to the shutdown of these plants the automaker was already dealing with shortages of parts from its suppliers, but the March shutdown was enacted with the expectation of a restart sometime in the middle of April. This timetable has now been pushed back at least until May 4.
“It’s important we give our employees as much clarity as possible on how long the present situation is likely to continue,” said Stuart Rowley, president, Ford of Europe. “We are hopeful the situation will improve in the coming month; our plans to restart operations, however, will continue to be informed by prevailing conditions and guidance of national governments.”
The automaker added that its restart plans are contingent upon restrictions imposed by different governments, as well as shipping of components from its suppliers and the operation of its dealers.
Back in the U.S., Ford has not issued a firm date for the restart of production at its plants, which came about as a result of talks with the UAW and stay-at-home orders issued by the governors of several states. But the automaker, of course, is subject to the same considerations as in Europe. When a production halt was first announced in the U.S. in the second half of March, it was initially estimated to last until March 30. This target has also been pushed back to an undetermined date, which could very well come in the month of May, and not in April as originally hoped. Likewise, Ford’s U.S. operations are dependent upon the shipping of components from suppliers and the operation of its dealer network, as well as open city and state travel conditions—so all of these factors, in addition to plant safety protocols, need to be in place before a production restart is deemed safe and worthwhile.
We’ll have additional automaker production information as it becomes available.
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