Volvo is just the latest major carmaker to suffer at the hands of this novel coronavirus outbreak, being forced to shut down production in Sweden as well as the U.S between March 26 and April 14. Their Belgium plant will remain closed until April 5.
The Swedish company’s main focus is now the health and safety of its employees, which is why precautionary measures and travel restrictions have already been taken.
In order to help reduce the spread of the virus, Volvo office workers will do their jobs from home as of March 26, and working hours will be reduced.
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“Our primary concerns are the health of our employees and the future of our business,” said the brand’s chief executive, Hakan Samuelsson. “With the help of valuable supporting programs put in place by governments and authorities, we have been able to act quickly.”
Facilities being put on hold include the Torslanda, Skovde and Olofstrom plants (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium) and South Carolina (United States). Volvo builds the XC90, XC60 and V90 at Torslanda, four-cylinder gasoline and diesel units in Skovde, and body components in Olofstrom.
The Ghent plant meanwhile produces the XC40 crossover and V60 station wagon, while the facility in Ridgeville, near Charleston, South Carolina, produces the all-new S60 sedan.
What’s interesting though is that earlier this month, Volvo actually reopened its four manufacturing plants in China, where showroom traffic is said to be back to normal – which is good news as far as global production is concerned.
