Ford just reopened its factories — and it just had to "re-close" two of them
When the party gets shut down before 9 pm... Detroit's Big Three automakers — Ford, GM, and Chrysler — all reopened plants Monday. Update: it's not going well for Ford.
- Monday: Ford's American assembly plants reopen for production (with health precautions like temp checks and only half of worker capacity).
- Tuesday: Two employees at Ford's Chicago plant test positive for COVID-19 — the plant is shut down.
- Also Tuesday: An employee at Ford's F-150-cranking plant in Dearborn, Michigan tests positive for COVID-19 — spoiler: the plant is shut down.
What would Lear do?... Lear is the "iconic" car seat maker that, early on, issued a 51-page "Safe Work Playbook" for resuming production. In true Lear fashion...
- Ford shuttered the two factories for 24 hours for a little DCD: "deep cleaning and disinfection."
- It also asked anyone who had been in close contact with infected employees to self-quarantine for two weeks. If you think this "start-stop model" isn't sustainable, that's because...
This "start-stop" model isn't sustainable... Shutting down a factory of thousands each time a person tests positive for COVID-19 is not viable long-term. The infected Michigan employees were working a mile away from the main plant — but because parts from their building were brought to the main assembly line, the whole complex had to be shut. As long as COVID-19 is around (or at least until we have a vaccine), this will continue to be an issue.