Ford has revealed that a fifth employee from the automaker has died after contracting the coronavirus while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has confirmed the death of an eighth employee with Covid-19.
Ford confirmed the news in an internal email sent to employees on Thursday. The company said the employee worked at the Livonia Transmission Plant that builds transmissions for more than 50 per cent of Ford’s vehicles. Other coronavirus-related deaths confirmed by Ford in recent weeks include one from the Ford Data Center in Dearborn, one from the Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing Plant, one from Dearborn Stamping, and one from Michigan Assembly in Wayne.
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“It is with a heavy heart that I share this news with you,” plant manager Bob Groden wrote in the letter to employees viewed by The Detroit Free Press. “Nothing is more important than the safety and wellbeing of our workforce. The last day that this employee worked was March 18, so the quarantine period has expired. If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, including a fever of 100.4 or higher, a cough or shortness of breath, please contact your medical provider.”
At FCA, the United Auto Workers union confirmed on Thursday that an employee who worked at the Mopar national parts distribution center in the packing department had died after being diagnosed with Covid-19.
This is the second death of an FCA worker employed at the Mopar national parts distribution center and the eighth death of an employee from FCA, The Detroit Free Press reports.
“Out of respect for the privacy of the families and those impacted by this situation, we are declining to comment,” FCA spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in a statement.
