F Ford Motor Company

By Mike Colias 

Ford Motor Co. closed its Chicago assembly plant for several hours on Tuesday after two employees tested positive for Covid-19, a sign of the choppy restart ahead as the auto industry resumes production after a two-month shutdown.

The auto maker idled the factory twice for several hours Tuesday after separately confirming the two positive cases, a company spokeswoman said. The plant was operating again Wednesday morning after parts of the facility were disinfected.

"Due to incubation time, we know these employees did not contract Covid-19 while at work," the spokeswoman said. "Our protocols are in place to help stop the spread of the virus."

The closure came on the second day that Detroit's auto makers began restarting their U.S. factories, which were idled around March 20 as the new-coronavirus pandemic spread. The companies have spent several weeks drawing up safety processes that include temperature checks, plastic barriers between work spaces and even electronic bracelets that beep to notify employees if they violate social-distancing rules.

Executives and analysts have warned that the industry's restart would be slow and complex, including the risk of infections popping up not only at the car plants but also at supplier factories.

(More to come)

Write to Mike Colias at Mike.Colias@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 20, 2020 12:59 ET (16:59 GMT)

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