WOLFSBURG: Volkswagen (VW) has announced its Chattanooga plant in the US will suspend production for one week.
The German carmaker added that it plans to resume production on March 29 at 10.00pm as they take action to ensure the health and safety of their employees by conducting additional sanitation and cleaning procedures throughout the factory.
Meanwhile, they will utilise this time to assess future production plans and market developments.
Their employees will be provided with full pay during the shutdown period at the factory with those able to telework, such as office staff, will do so.
They have requested that all employees conduct self-quarantine and maintain social distancing as directed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The company will continue to monitor the situation and will ensure that it will take any and all additional steps as they become necessary as well as communicating updates once available.
In recent weeks we have taken the following precautionary steps which include implementing heightened sanitization and cleaning procedures throughout the factory as well as on their transportation shuttles.
They have also installed sanitation areas in high-traffic zones of the plant and provided all production, maintenance and production support staff with paid time off.
On March 16, the company indicated that it will plan and assess childcare needs in response to school closures before postponing all events at the Volkswagen Academy and Conference Center.
Also included was the implementation of social distancing procedures in business-critical training and postponing all non-critical training and classroom activities.
Its onsite fitness centre was closed with volunteer exercise classes postponed, kept doors opened to reduce contact, limited visitors and conducted safety screening questionnaires.
Business-related travels - both domestic and international, were prohibited and the company began sharing healthy best practices from the CDC via internal communication channels as well as provide daily updates to all employees regarding the company's activities.
