Paint shop employees workers at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plant in Warren where the older version of the Ram 1500 pickup is made stopped working Monday over coronavirus concerns.
The company said there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Macomb County plant, and that paint shop operations have resumed. Production at the plant was not affected by the incident, according to a statement from FCA spokeswoman Jodi Tinson. It was not clear whether those workers resumed their jobs.
“Earlier today, 17 employees in the paint shop stopped working over concerns about the virus. There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant. We are continuing to monitor the situation carefully and are taking all necessary precautions to safeguard the health and welfare of our workforce,” according to the statement.
Tinson did not say what prompted the concerns.
She did, however, say no other similar incidents had happened at other FCA facilities Monday.
The incident was reported earlier by The Detroit News.
More: Windsor Assembly workers concerned about coronavirus back on line after refusing to work
More: Coronavirus puts FCA Italy on hiatus through March 27
More: UAW worker at Indiana Fiat Chrysler factory tests positive for coronavirus
The situation follows a production stoppage at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario last week. Workers at the plant, which produces the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, stopped working there over virus concerns after an employee who might have had secondary contact was out on self-quarantine. The company said there were no confirmed cases at that plant, either.
Production at Windsor was down for about a day.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.
Read or Share this story: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/chrysler/2020/03/16/paint-shop-warren-truck-fca-coronavirus/5060521002/