2021 Bronco reveal events cancelled as Ford tells employees to work remotely

Ford announced Friday morning that its global workforce is being instructed to operate remotely wherever and whenever possible in order to slow the spread of coronavirus. Separately, the company communicated to media outlets that the events planned to introduce the 2021 Bronco 4×4 have been called off. 

These series of dealer- and media-facing events scheduled for next week were intended to pave the way for the Bronco’s formal unveiling. Ford did not address whether this change would have any impact on the Bronco’s consumer roll-out or production schedule. Autoblog reached out to Ford for clarification and we will update this report if necessary. 

Separately, the company made a formal announcement that it has instituted remote work policies across its global operations, effective Monday. The full statement follows:

Ford’s top priority is always the safety and well-being of our employees, dealers, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Thankfully, the effect of the coronavirus on Ford employees so far has been very limited. In recent days, though, we concluded the issue has taken on a different dimension – and are continuing to act in real time to keep our people safe and help limit the spread of the virus in communities where we live and work. Therefore, starting Monday, we are instructing much of our global workforce – except those in business-critical roles that cannot be done away from Ford facilities – to work remotely until further notice.  The action will additionally help reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus while maximizing the health of our business.

To make matters worse for Ford’s 4×4 fans, the New York Auto Show, which was to play host to the unveiling of the Ford Bronco Sport, was postponed Tuesday. That show will now take place in August. It’s unclear whether automakers will go forward with electronic introductions in April (as many did for the cancelled Geneva show), or if some of the introductions intended to take place will actually be held over until the show’s new time slot. 

On the bright side, there have been enough leaks of the 2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport that it almost feels like Ford has pulled the sheet off of both of them already. Those morsels will have to be enough to tide us over until Ford can come up with an alternative approach.