GM, Ford, Fiat Chrysler temporarily closing North American plants

Workers build a Ford car.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler announced on Wednesday they are closing all of their North American manufacturing plants in order to thoroughly clean facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The plants will shut down over the next day, with operations suspended until at least the end of March. United Auto Workers President Rory Gamble said this will give everyone "time to review best practices and to prevent the spread of this disease."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.