Ford will start to reopen some operations May 18

U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it is planning to restart production and operations in North America in a phased manner, starting May 18. Its operations, as with most manufacturing on the continent, have been in lockdown due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Ford said from that date it will also start bringing back some employees whose work cannot be done remotely such as vehicle testing and design. This includes about 12,000 workers in North America, the company said.

As first reported under consideration nearly two weeks ago, the Detroit Three automakers have all targeted May 18 as their date to resume operations. General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles both confirmed their plans this week, and yesterday Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said manufacturing can resume starting next Monday, May 11, which will allow suppliers to get production of components up and running.