Coronavirus leads Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai to join North American plant closures

Following the closure of car factories by Ford, GM, FCA and Honda, another group of automakers is shutting down plants in the face of the COVID-19 coronavirus threat. Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai have all announced they will be closing production facilities temporarily. The number of plants and the length of time closed varies significantly between companies, though.

Nissan, in a move similar to the American automakers, will shut down all U.S. factories starting Friday. The planned reopening of those plants is April 6. The company reports no confirmed cases of COVID-19 among its factory employees and that this is a precautionary measure.

Hyundai has had a confirmed case of the virus in one of its employees at its Alabama factory. That has led to the closure of the facility as of Wednesday morning. The company says it’s now working to clean and disinfect the plant in accordance to state public health guidelines. Hyundai hasn’t given a specific date for reopening, saying it will reopen when it has been determined the facility is adequately clean and measures are put in place to keep workers safe. No other Hyundai factories have been announced to be closing besides the Alabama location.

Toyota’s plant closures are the most widespread, but potentially the shortest span of time. The company announced all of its manufacturing facilities across North America will close for cleaning and disinfecting. The plants will be closed starting on March 23, and reopening on March 25.

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