In the name of the health of the employees but also of the supply problems of their factories, the car manufacturers and the equipment manufacturers will interrupt the production in several factories. Employees in the tertiary sector will have to telecommute.
The automaker PSA has announced the closure in the coming days of all production sites in France, starting with that of Mulhouse, as of this Monday afternoon. "The other industrial sites will follow," said Christine Virassamy, CFDT central delegate at PSA, referring to the "wind of panic that is shaking employees facing the epidemic of coronavirus in France.
"This is a lot of lost time for the fight against the coronavirus and its spread, and to defend the health of employees," regretted Jean-Pierre Mercier, CGT delegate, judging that "management should have made this decision much sooner. "
For its part, Renault has announced that its four Spanish factories are shutdown "Monday and Tuesday" and that the resumption of production was uncertain for the coming days. In addition to health problems, several production sites encounter difficulties in the supply of spare parts. "Some of our suppliers are located in areas where transport is blocked, areas close to the city of Igualada in Catalonia which have been quarantined," said a spokesperson.
Four Renault factories shut down in Spain
The shutdown Renault factories are located in Valladolid (two units), Palencia and Seville. They employ a total of “just under 10,000 people. These judgments hint at other closings at Renault. Indeed, one of the two Valladolid sites produces in particular engines which are fitted to many of the brand's assembled vehicles also in other countries but also on behalf of Nissan and Mercedes.
This announcement plunged the Renault title to the stock market with a loss of nearly 22%, 17% for Peugeot and 8% for Michelin. The government is expected to announce support for the industry in the afternoon.
Fiat Chrysler extends disinfection of its sites
At Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA), the majority of factories will also close until March 27. This decision concerns six factories in Italy, one in Serbia and one in Poland. According to the Italian agency Radiocor, these factories represent between 30 and 35% of the productive capacity of the car manufacturer, which owns the Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Dodge and Ram brands. "The group will use these suspensions to implement revisions to production and quality control processes for the benefit of its customers and overall productivity," said in an FCA press release, which will take advantage of this to extend the disinfection of its sites.
The situation is no better among auto parts manufacturers. Michelin will shut down its factories in Spain, France and Italy for "at least a week". It is a question of respecting "the hygiene and containment measures put in place in these countries," explained a spokesperson, adding that this decision was valid for the moment "until Sunday, March 22. "
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In total, these closings affect more than 20,000 employees at 21 industrial sites from Tuesday noon. The tire manufacturer said it was "looking at the compensation processes" for employees, "depending on the arrangements in each country."
