DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. plans to restart production at some of its idled North American plants in early April, the automaker said Thursday.
It expects to reopen its Hermosillo Assembly Plant on one shift April 6 and plans to restart production April 14 at Dearborn Truck, Kentucky Truck, Kansas City Assembly and Ohio Assembly.
In a statement, the UAW said: “We are reviewing with great concern and caution today’s announcement. Our priority is the health and safety of our members, their families and the American public.”
The automaker said a number of other operations also are scheduled to restart April 14 to support the assembly plants. Those are Dearborn Stamping, Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing, integrated stamping plants inside Kansas City Assembly and Kentucky Truck, Sharonville Transmission and portions of Van Dyke Transmission, Lima Engine and Rawsonville Components.
Ford did not offer restart dates for Chicago Assembly, Flat Rock Assembly, Michigan Assembly, Louisville Assembly, Cuautitlan Assembly in Mexico or Oakville Assembly in Canada.
“We will continue to assess public health conditions as well as supplier readiness and will adjust plans if necessary,” Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s president of North America, said in a statement.
The automaker’s North American plants have been down since March 20. Ford originally planned to restart production March 30 but pushed back the deadline after many states, including Michigan, issued stay-at-home orders that go beyond those dates.
Michigan’s order ends April 13.