Fiat Chrysler is temporarily stopping operations at some plants in Italy and will decrease production rates in order to fight the coronavirus outbreak in the country, a spokesman for the automaker said on Wednesday.
The automaker stated it had stepped up measures throughout its facilities, including intensive sanitation of all work and rest areas, to support the government’s directives to combat the spread of the infectious disease.
“As a result of taking these actions the company will, where necessary, make temporary closures of its plants throughout Italy,” it said.
Italy has the largest number of cases related to coronavirus in Europe,
The spokesman said affected auto plants were Pomigliano, Melfi, Atessa and Cassino, each of them have been stopped for two or three days between Wednesday and Saturday.
FCA stated that to allow greater spacing of workers at their workstations, daily production rates will be reduced to accommodate the adapted manufacturing processes.
A source close to the matter said the automaker did not expect an impact on overall production rates.
The source added that temporary closures were in no way connected to disruptions of auto parts supplies after anti-virus measures imposed by Rome across Italy.
