European automakers suspend operations in response to coronavirus

An unprecedented wave of automaker factory closures is unfolding across Europe, as the novel coronavirus begins to take its toll on all aspects of automaker operations. From interrupted and disrupted supply chains to workforce absences, and from falling vehicle demand to national lockdown-related car dealership closures, operations are becoming either impossible or unviable, leaving senior management with difficult decisions about how to proceed. Automakers have been keen to encourage non-assembly line workers to work from home, but in doing so, they find themselves struggling to justify asking factory workers to stand shoulder to shoulder at the assembly line.