Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) says its subsidiaries, FCA Italy and Maserati, will temporarily suspend production across the majority of their European manufacturing plants.
“The temporary suspension, which will be in effect through March 27, continues the implementation of a comprehensive set of actions in response to the COVID-19 emergency and enables the group to effectively respond to the interruption in market demand by ensuring the optimisation of supply,” said the company in a statement released on Monday.
In particular, the suspension of production was being facilitated to enable the group to be ready to start production promptly once market conditions allow, the statement noted.
FCA said it had been proactively modifying production protocols at several plants, including enhancing social distancing between employees at work-stations.
Across all facilities, FCA has increased cleaning and sanitisation and other improvements for employee safety.
Strict controls and security measures have been applied to canteens and to external access to all group sites.
At FCA offices, the company has accelerated the deployment of working remotely, with this option now widely available to employees across the world.
The group added that it would make use of the planned production stoppages to implement revisions to production and quality control protocols “to benefit customers and enhance overall productivity”.
The group noted that it was working with its supply base and business partners to be ready to enable its manufacturing operations to deliver previously planned levels of production despite the suspension, when market demand returned.