London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler to temporarily close all US factories due to the coronavirus

General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler to temporarily close all US factories due to the coronavirus

The Big Three automakers plan to close all U.S. auto factories as the coronavirus sweeps across the country. Ford said it would temporarily close its factories in North America after Thursday evening shifts.

Detroit’s Big Three automakers plan to temporarily close all U.S. factories as the coronavirus sweeps across the country.

The companies bowed to pressure from union leaders and employees who called for protection from the pandemic that’s spread to more than 212,000 people in nearly every country across the globe.

Ford said it plans to close its factories in the U.S., Canada and Mexico after Thursday evening and through March 30. The company said it would work closely with the United Auto Workers union in the coming weeks to restart plants and explore additional protocols and procedures to help prevent the spread of the virus.

“We’re continuing to work closely with union leaders, especially the United Auto Workers, to find ways to help keep our workforce healthy and safe -even as we look at solutions for continuing to provide the vehicles customers really want and need,” said Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s president of North America.

General Motors said it’s closing all North American factories at least until March 30 and will evaluate the situation on a weekly basis after that.

Fiat Chrysler said it will cease operations at its plants across North America “progressively from today through the end of March.” The company said it will reevaluate the situation at the end of the hiatus and will work closely with the UAW in the meantime to facilitate safe working conditions, including shift timings and enhanced cleaning protocols.

All together, the closures would affect 25 final-assembly factories and 150,000 union workers, according to the UAW and each automaker. General Motors has 11 factories, followed by Ford’s eight factories and Fiat Chrysler’s six.

“UAW members, their families and our communities will benefit from today’s announcement with the certainty that we are doing all that we can to protect our health and safety during this pandemic,” said UAW President Rory Gamble. “This will give us time to review best practices and to prevent the spread of this disease.”

Earlier Wednesday, Ford temporarily closed its operations at a Michigan-based assembly plant after an employee tested positive for COVID-19, spokesman Daniel Barbossa said in an email. It wasn’t immediately made clear when or if the factory would reopen.

The halt in production could create an immediate cash crunch for the automakers as demand for cars declines amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

RBC Capital Markets adjusted its forecast for auto stocks and said that fallout from the coronavirus could send global auto production down 16% in 2020, fueled partially by an expected 20% decline in U.S. sales.

“The greater challenge is that once the country gets past the worst of the pandemic, automakers will need to be prepared to get back online quickly to capitalize on the wave of deferred consumer demand,” said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ executive director of industry analysis.

On Tuesday, the UAW said it had reached a deal with Ford, Fiat Chrysler and General Motors that would partially shut down facilities in the U.S.

The actions were a compromise between the companies and union after the UAW’s Gamble on Sunday urged the automakers to cease production for two weeks due to the spread of the virus.

Honda North America announced on Wednesday that it will be closing four U.S.-based plants starting March 23 due to an anticipated decline in market demand. In a statement, Honda said it would halt production for six days with plans to return by the end of the month.

The coronavirus has now infected more than 212,000 people across the globe and has killed at least 8,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University data. In the U.S., it has infected more than 6,400 and has killed at least 114.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
×