A Fiat Chrysler Automobiles employee at the company’s Auburn Hills headquarters in Michigan has died after testing positive for COVID-19.
According to two sources familiar with the situation who talked to The Detroit News, a technical support worker died after contracting the novel coronavirus, prompting FCA to let more employees at its headquarters stay home.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the man was a non-union FCA employee in his 50s “who provided technical support for dynamometers.” The reports surface shortly after FCA said on Sunday that employees at its technology center can stay home. “In combination with increased remote working, we have made the decision to postpone work associated with the test laboratories and pilot plant from Monday, March 23,” the carmaker said in a statement.
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FCA Kokomo Transmission Plant In Indiana
When asked about the case, the automaker said: “We have cases of COVID-19 in our business enterprise, however out of respect for employee privacy, we will not provide additional comment.”
The news comes after FCA allowed thousands of white-collar employees globally to work remotely if they are able to do so. The company also is shutting down plants around the world, including in North America, following pressure from its workforce and labor unions. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles added it has implemented new cleaning programs and social distancing protocols at all of its facilities, following recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
FCA previously had confirmed cases at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan and Kokomo Transmission Plant in Indiana. There’s also a potential case in a subcontractor at the construction site of its new assembly plant in Detroit.
As of March 23, the state of Michigan has 1,035 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 9 deaths and is expected to issue a lockdown order later today.
