More Shutdowns
Yamaha is far from the first company to shut down production facilities in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, but it likely won’t be the last. According to MoreBikes, the company has suspended production at two of its facilities. The first is in Italy and the second is in France.
Production at the Motori Minarelli engine factory in Calderara di Reno, Italy, is the first. The second is the MBK Industrei assembly plant in Saint-Quentin, France. Both will shut down until March 22. The plan, according to the report, is to review the status of the virus outbreak weekly and decide if the facility should continue to stay closed or not.
Eric de Seynes, Chief Executive Officer of Yamaha Motor Europe said: “The health of our employees and our social responsibility are our priorities at this stage, which is why we took the decision to suspend production at these two facilities in the face of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. We also value highly the skills and commitment of a workforce that has shown tremendous loyalty to Yamaha, but now faces an unprecedented situation outside of the workplace.”
He went on to say that the company is working to ensure that no employee will lose out financially between now and the time that it can re-open the facilities. While March 22 is the target date to get back on track, that totally depends on how things go with the virus. It could be longer before things return to normal.