Plants in north Wales and Crewe reopen as sector begins to ease out of lockdown
Production has begun again at luxury carmaker Bentley at their factory in Crewe, although about a quarter of staff remain furloughed.
Photograph: Bentley Motors
Employees at two UK automotive plants are returning to work this week as the British economy tries to restart under the shadow of coronavirus restrictions.
The government on Monday published its plan to restart the economy, including reiterating its advice that all manufacturers should return to work with physical distancing in place. At the same time, Toyota and Bentley reopened sites as one of the country’s key industries slowly returns to life.
Q&A
Coronavirus: should everyone be wearing face masks?
The World Health Organization (WHO) guidance on face masks has remained consistent during the coronavirus pandemic. It has stuck to the line that masks are for healthcare workers – not the public.
“Wearing a medical mask is one of the prevention measures that can limit the spread of certain respiratory viral diseases, including Covid-19. However, the use of a mask alone is insufficient to provide an adequate level of protection, and other measures should also be adopted,” the WHO has stated.
Nevertheless, as some countries have eased lockdown conditions, they have been making it mandatory to wear face coverings outside, as a way of trying to inhibit spread of the virus. This is in the belief that the face covering will prevent people who cough and sneeze ejecting the virus any great distance.
There is no robust scientific evidence – in the form of trials – that ordinary masks block the virus from infecting people who wear them. There is also concerns the public will not understand how to use a mask properly, and may get infected if they come into contact with the virus when they take it off and then touch their faces.
Also underlying the WHO’s concerns is the shortage of high-quality protective masks for frontline healthcare workers.
Nevertheless, masks do have a role when used by people who are already infected. It is accepted that they can block transmission to other people. Given that many people with Covid-19 do not show any symptoms for the first days after they are infected, masks clearly have a potential role to play if everyone wears them.
Sarah Boseley Health editor
Toyota, the world’s second-largest carmaker by volume, is restarting production for the petrol and hybrid engines produced at its plant in Deeside. Some 550 workers return to the factory in north Wales for briefing on Monday and Tuesday, after it shut on 18 March.
New safety measures at the Deeside plant will include screens between workers, mandatory face masks, knee-operated sinks, and tools to allow employees to operate button-operated machinery without direct contact.
Luxury carmaker Bentley has halved the production rate at its Crewe factory as it reopened on Monday. Some 1,700 workers will return to the factory floor at the German-owned manufacturer, with about a quarter of its workers remaining furloughed.
Jim Crosbie, managing director of Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK, said he believed the flexibility of UK automotive manufacturers would be a key factor in surving the lockdown as sales slowly return. However, he said he was not expecting a “V-shaped” recovery in sales, suggesting a recovery could be drawn out.
“Many countries across Europe are now easing their lockdown measures,” Crosbie said. “We need to see how that affects the market.
“We need to be flexible in manufacturing, as we always have to be. It could be very high, it could be moderate, it could be lower. We need to be ready to respond to that.”
Aston Martin Lagonda and Rolls-Royce were the first large car producers to get back to work last week. Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s largest car manufacturer, will restart one production shift with 2,500 workers at its Solihull factory on 18 May, while some employees will return this week to its Wolverhampton engine plant.
Workers in construction, the other sector named explicitly by Boris Johnson in his Sunday evening address to the nation, have also returned to sites. Taylor Wimpey and Vistry, formerly known as Bovis, were the first big housebuilders to reopen sites. Persimmon, Redrow and Barratt have also reopened sites around the UK.
However, some factories will remain closed for weeks to come, in part because of the uncertainties around demand. Toyota’s other plant at Burnaston, Derbyshire, which manufactures the Corolla hatchback, will not reopen until at least 26 May.
Honda at the end of last week postponed the reopening of its Swindon plant, which had been scheduled for Monday, citing the need to implement safety measures as well as demand-and-supply chain issues.
The UK car industry still faces the enormous challenge of selling its products, with buyers unable to return to showrooms until 1 June at the very earliest.
Although Toyota’s UK operations had not so far had issues in their supply chains, pressure was on Monday becoming evident for suppliers to other manufacturers.
Arlington Automotive Group, a large supplier of thermostats to companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and Nissan, on Thursday appointed administrators, putting as many as 600 jobs at risk at sites across England.