Ford Motor Co. said it expects the process of reopening its plants and offices to take several months, with some salaried employees continuing to work from home until at least late June or early July.
When vehicle production will resume remains unclear, but officials on Thursday described a long list of changes that workers will find.
They won’t have access to cafeterias or fitness centers during breaks. They’ll don goggles, carry hand sanitizer and sport Ford-made face masks for the entirety of their shifts.
They’ll stand 6 feet apart, where possible, and their movements around the factory will be reorganized to avoid bottlenecks. Before they enter the building, they’ll have to complete health certifications and be subject a no-touch temperature check.
“The workplace will be much different than it was even two months ago,” Kiersten Robinson, Ford’s chief human resources officer, said on a conference call with reporters.
Ford executives said that, whenever U.S. plants resume production, all will come online together. Line speeds will remain the same, but production will be affected for some time as workers return on reduced shifts.
For example, plants that operate on three shifts will come back on two, and overtime will be curtailed.
Ford officials are eager to resume operations. The automaker this week said it lost $2 billion in the first quarter and projected an operating loss of more than $5 billion this quarter due to the virus.
“It’s critical we get this restart right,” COO Jim Farley said. “We want to restart as soon as we can and do it safely.”
