Ford plans to end plants' coronavirus closures by mid-April
Ford officially declared dates for when it plans to get some of its plants back in business. The No. 2. U.S. automaker said it was bringing key plants back online, while introducing additional safety measures to protect returning workers from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Hermosillo Assembly Plant in Mexico is expected to return April 6. Ford currently produces the Fusion and Lincoln MKZ at the Hermosillo plant. April 14 is a much bigger date for Ford, though, as it intends to reopen multiple plants in the U.S. on that date.
The following locations are tentatively scheduled for an April 14 reopening: Dearborn Truck Plant, Kentucky Truck Plant, Kansas City Assembly Plant's Transit Line, and the Ohio Assembly Plant. In order to support these plants, Ford intends to open more facilities including the Dearborn Stamping Plant, Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing Plant, Integrated Stamping Plants within Kansas City and Kentucky Truck Plants, Sharonville Transmission Plant, and portions of Van Dyke Transmission, Lima Engine and Rawsonville Component plants.
Earlier this week, Reuters had reported, citing sources that Ford did not plan to restart production until at least April 6, warning it could be further delayed into April. Michigan is currently subject to a "stay at home" order that is in effect through April 13.
Detroit’s Big Three shut plants and curtailed production to limit the number of workers on the job to prevent the spread of coronavirus among roughly 150,000 factory employees. Neither GM nor FCA have provided hard dates for the reopening of its manufacturing facilities in the U.S. yet.
"We will continue to assess public health conditions as well as supplier readiness and will adjust plans if necessary," Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of North America, said in a statement.
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