The company said that some of its component facilities will remain operational and the majority of its assembly operations related to agricultural, construction, commercial and speciality vehicles production have been suspended
Image: CNH’s STEYR 6300 Terrus CVT. (Credit: CNH INDUSTRIAL N.V.)
CNH Industrial, the European agricultural and construction equipment maker, has suspended its assembly operations for two weeks in Europe following the constraints of supply chain caused by the COVID-19 emergency.
While most component facilities will remain operational, CNH said that its operations related to agricultural, construction, commercial and speciality vehicles production have been suspended.
The components facilities will offer uninterrupted service to its customer base
The company said that facilities that will remain operational will strictly comply with national health directives in order to ensure that the supply to its facilities located outside of Europe, continues. Its part depots in Europe are also expected to be opened to offer uninterrupted service to its customer base.
The company stated that it is working in close consultation with unions and works councils to implement the temporary shutdowns and the re-opening of the plants.
CNH Industrial CEO Hubertus Mühlhäuser said: “The company takes the health and wellbeing of its entire workforce very seriously, and we have implemented all measures to protect the employee population, as well as to help in the fight to contain the spread of the pandemic.
“The decision to shut down our European assembly plants for a two week period is driven by disruptions in our European supply chain, that do not allow for an efficient operation.
“During these temporary shutdowns, we will also undertake further extensive sanitization and deep cleaning procedures.”
CNH stated that its COVID-19 global taskforce is constantly monitoring the situation not only in Europe but also at other locations around the world and in all the markets it operates.
Earlier this month, the company has started taking additional measures at its Italian facilities, after the Government introduced emergency decrees.
To this end, the company had temporarily closed down Italian production facilities and had also introduced safety measures, which were applied across all of its manufacturing sites, if the conditions require. The measures, as per the company, can provide safe working conditions, while production volumes are managed accordingly.