One of the UK’s biggest carmakers, Vauxhall, revealed plans to restart production in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis. The news comes as the British government is under increasing pressure to confirm a strategy to breathe life into the economy by bringing certain sectors out of lockdown.
Vauxhall plans to introduce safety measures to protect workers. For example, staff will be made to clean their workstations every hour, to wear protective equipment including face masks, and to remain two metres apart at all times during the workday. The company is seeking to reopen its factory in Liverpool but has not yet set a date for production to restart. Sources say that the workforce could return within a matter of weeks, depending on a review of the proposed safety measures. Plant managers hope that within three weeks of reopening the factory, production could be running at around 85% of its usual capacity.
The company, owned by France’s Peugeot, has not yet fixed a firm date for restarting, but could reopen within weeks, depending on the successful completion of audits of the measures. Within three weeks of restarting the plants managers hope to be running at about 85% of capacity.
The plant, which employs over a thousand workers who make Astra cars, was one of the first manufacturers to close its doors in March. Every other large automotive factory in Britain has since shut down.