Production at Ford Motor Company’s Hermosillo Assembly plant was scheduled to restart April 6 but has been pushed back to a yet-to-be determined date, according to Local 4.
Several other plants in Metro Detroit that were set to restart production April 14 have also been delayed.
Rory Gamble, President of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, said holding off production was “the right decision.” Gamble said in a statement to Local 4 that the UAW Ford Department is working closely with local unions and Ford to ensure that when production begins again that members are safe and the communities are protected from the virus.
“The health and safety of our workforce, dealers, customers, partners and communities remains our highest priority,” Kumar Galhotra, Ford president, North America told Local 4. “We are working very closely with union leaders -- especially at the UAW -- to develop additional health and safety procedures aimed at helping keep our workforce safe and healthy.”
Still, not all production has been put on hold. The Rawsonville Components Plant will start running things again the week of April 20. Model A-E ventilators will be produced there, according to Local 4. Five hundred paid volunteer UAW workers will be on the production line to get 50,000 ventilators out by July 4.
The ventilators will be the only thing produced in the plant for the immediate time being. The Model A-E ventilator is a cost-efficient ventilator that is expected to address the needs for most COVID-19 patients, according to Local 4.
Ford isn't the only motor company that's producing items to aid in the fight against COVID-19. UAW paid volunteers, alongside GM paid volunteers, are expected to deliver 20,000 masks by April 8. It will be the first batch of an expected 1.5 million a month.
When operations are up and running smoothly, that is 50,000 masks daily.
Peter Thom, GM vice president, Global Manufacturing Engineering, said his team began trying to figure out ways to put their talents to work in order to be of service during the pandemic.
“Working around the clock, our team rallied with incredible passion and focus to come up with a plan to produce masks that will help protect the women and men on the front lines of this crisis,” Thom told Local 4.
The masks will go to health workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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