Aston Martin stated on Thursday it prepares to resume its St Athan factory located in south Wales on May 5 and will also restart operations at Gaydon later, following the coronavirus-led shutdowns forced the luxury automaker to suspend production at both sites.
The automaker also announced pay cuts of between 5% and 35% for its senior leadership team on Thursday, with new boss and Formula 1 team owner Lawrence Stroll electing to get a nominal salary of 1 pound per annum.
Previously in the week, Aston Martin, popular for being James Bond’s automaker of choice, stated it was concentrating on launching production of its first sport utility vehicle under Stroll.
Shares of the company, which have lost over two-third of their value this year, gained 7% to 51 pence.
The automaker said a majority of its workers are currently furloughed, and those who continue to be laid off from May 1 will receive 80% of their base salaries from next month.
The UK is in a lockdown because of the pandemic, with many companies closing and millions of workers furloughed as the nation heads for a deep recession.
The central England-based auto manufacturer had secured fresh investment previously this year after having a hard time since a stock market flotation late 2018.
The company has been banking on the DBX model to drive sales in a new segment – attracting more to female consumers.
About 138,078 people in the UK have been confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus. The virus has killed 18,738 people in the country.
