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.
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.