The Big 3 made a big announcement on Wednesday with Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler all greeing to close all of their factories.
The closure comes as a result of worker fears about COVID-19.
An employee at Windsor Asembly Plant spoke with AM800 News Wednesday afternoon and says he received an email from a Local 444 Trim Rep stating "I will confirm that further discussion with the Union and Management it has been decided to close all North American Plants until further notice."
AM800 News has reached out to FCA officials but has not heard back, however, 444 President Dave cassidy says the local union has still not received official word from FCA but the company has called employees to notify them of the closure. Workers scheduled for the afternoon and midnight shifts were told not to come in.
Local 444 has posted a statement on its Facebook Page.
After several days of high-level meetings trying to get reliable answers and pushing this company to consider the health and well being of our members, FCA has decided to shut down their production facilities until further notice.
Take direction from management
— Unifor Local 444 Facebook
Honda is closing its North American factories for about one week starting on Monday.
The United Auto Workers union has been pushing for factories to close because workers are fearful of coming into contact with COVID-19.
Ford has released a statement following the initial announcement.
Ford has officially announced that it is 'temporarily suspending production' at its manufacturing plants in North America including the two Ford plants in Windsor.
The move takes effect following Thursday's evening's shifts until March 30th to allow the plants to be thoroughly cleaned.
The automaker temporarily closed the Michigan Assembly Plant this morning after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
"In these unprecedented times, we are exploring unique and creative solutions to support our workforce, customers, dealers, suppliers and communities," says Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford's North American operations.
UPDATE
At 7:32pm on Wednesday FCA Canada released the following statement:
FCA Canada Statement Regarding Suspension of Production Operations
Working with Unifor and listening to the concerns of our people, we have agreed to cease production at our plants across North America, starting progressively from today through the end of March. While production is paused, the Company will put actions into place to facilitate the steps agreed to through the joint task-force set up between Unifor and the automakers. Through this period, which we will re-evaluate at the end of this month, FCA will work to enhance its manufacturing operations to facilitate the changes agreed with the UAW including shift timings, structures and enhanced cleaning protocols.
Commenting on this action, FCA CEO, Mike Manley said: “Working with our unions, and having visited many of our Detroit-area plants yesterday, we need to ensure employees feel safe at work and that we are taking every step possible to protect them. We will continue to do what is right for our people through this period of uncertainty.”
— with files from The Canadian Press