The rise of the Michigan virus slows the Ram truck plant in Sterling Heights, the source says

DETROIT – Michigan’s worst COVID-19 outbreak begins to slow car production, with a major Ram truck plant reducing production due to a high number of absent workers.

About 10 percent of the workforce at the Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) assembly plant in Sterling Heights, north of Detroit, tested positive or is in quarantine, a person who has been informed of the situation. That equates to about 600 workers, the person said, who asked not to be identified because neither the company nor the United Auto Workers union disclosed details.

The 5 million square meter plant has about 7,450 workers per hour, but not all are on the assembly lines. To try to curb the shortage, the company has pulled workers from a pickup truck factory in nearby Warren, Michigan, which has been forced to close due to global semiconductor shortages.

But because these workers have to be trained to build the new Ram pads, the assembly line moves more slowly than normal, said the person, who did not know how much production had been lost.

Announcements

As it has been for weeks, Michigan continues to suffer the highest seven-day case rate in the country, 538 per 100,000 residents, according to the federal government.

The UAW confirmed that cases are rising in Sterling Heights. Many of the absent workers did not test positive, but are awaiting testing or isolating themselves due to close contact with others who have the virus, the union said.

“While the numbers are changing by turn, we can say that there is a recent increase in cases, as in all of Michigan,” UAW Vice President of Stellantis Cindy Estrada said in a statement.

He urged workers to be cautious about “keeping the plants and our UAW members and families safe.”

Stellantis would also not provide figures, but confirmed that employees tested positive for coronavirus as cases in Michigan increase.

The company says in a statement that it has been taking steps to keep factory workers safe and has urged them to get vaccinated.

Announcements

“We continue to be aggressive following the recommended guidelines for tracking contacts,” the statement said. “We also continue to strongly encourage our employees to follow the same safety and health measures whenever they are away.”

The Ram pickup, the third most popular vehicle in the United States, is a major profit driver for Stellantis. The company sold 563,000 of the trucks last year.

Stellantis rivals Ford and General Motors have said they have not lost any production in recent weeks due to virus cases.

Bloomberg News first reported a slowdown in Sterling Heights production.

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