Honda announced Wednesday that it would freeze production at all of its North American facilities for the next six days, citing a decline in demand due to the coronavirus outbreak, the first domestic company to institute a full closure.
The announcement followed a joint decision by GM, Ford, and Fiat-Chrysler to begin a rotating partial shutdown of their factories.
“As the market impact of the fast-changing COVID-19 situation evolves, Honda will continue to evaluate conditions and make additional adjustments as necessary. In undertaking this production adjustment, Honda is continuing to manage its business carefully through a measured approach to sales that aligns production with market demand,” the American branch of the Japanese automaker announced. The move will cut production by 40,000 cars.
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Honda said it would continue full pay for all 27,600 workers in North America. “In addition, Honda will utilize this time to continue deep cleaning of its production facilities and common areas to further protect associates upon their return to the plants,” the company said.
The United Auto Workers announced the partial shutdowns by Ford, GM, and Fiat-Chrysler Wednesday, describing them as part of a broader effort to boost safety measures for workers. “[E]ach company will be working with UAW Vice Presidents to implement these improvements and most importantly arranging shifts to be set to adhere to CDC required social distancing and protection of members,” the union said. It added that further details regarding the rotating shifts would be announced in the coming days.
The domestic automakers and the union had previously announced Monday that they were working jointly on a coordinated response to the outbreak.
The auto companies had previously suspended much of the production at their European facilities as well.
