The new F-150 launch will be staggered between Dearborn and Kansas City, “the two best plants, actually, in our manufacturing system,” Farley said. It, too, will have three shifts in place the week of July 6.
Meanwhile, the Dearborn Truck Plant is working two 10-hour shifts on weekdays plus a single 10-hour shift on Saturdays for the next four weeks. For example, the supply of parts must align with production schedules. But, he said, restarting production is plagued with similar challenges that a new product launch faces.
Welter's been working 80-hour weeks to get the job done. "We'll get there, but I don't know when we'll get there," Welter said.
It is on the path to reach its full production capacity soon.
GM's Flint Assembly is running three eight-hour shifts five days a week, Welter said. “None of the parties involved want production shutdowns.” '500 people coming back' “These are highly skilled workers that are getting used to a very different environment,” he said. But the priority must be health and safety protections for workers, which protects factory production long-term, he said. It benefits the company, shareholders and union members, who get bigger profit-sharing checks when things go well. Make no mistake, the union supports ramping up production, Rothenberg said. And we will also be pushing for protocol enhancements and increased testing as they become available.” “The UAW will be vigilant in monitoring the impacts of these new phases on the health of our members, their families and communities. “A phased-in approach is important to the health and safety of our members as we monitor and, when necessary, adjust these safety protocols,” UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg said. The UAW has agreed with a strategy to gradually reopen factories, part of a bigger plan that has developed over the past three months, to protect an estimated 150,000 hourly workers from getting exposed to coronavirus in the workplace. Additionally, all remaining third-shift employees will return to Arlington Assembly the week of June 15. On Wednesday afternoon, GM informed its workers at Arlington Assembly in Texas, where it makes its full-size SUVs, that Saturday will be a scheduled production day for the first shift. Separately, an FCA spokeswoman said once the company restarts a second shift at Belvidere Assembly in Illinois the week of June 22, all of FCA's North American assembly plants will be at pre-pandemic "operating patterns.".Dhivya Suryadevara, GM chief financial officer, said it will return by the end of June, or sooner, if possible.Jim Farley, Ford chief operating officer, said it expects to return by July 6.On Wednesday, GM and Ford gave Wall Street aggressive timelines to return production to pre-coronavirus levels at the 2020 Global Auto Industry Conference hosted by Deutsche Bank: The UAW supports the push to scale up production, but it warns such a measure must be balanced with increased safety protocols for workers.