Ford to bring forward UK summer shutdown due to coronavirus

Ford will bring forward part of the summer shutdown for its British engine plants to Easter due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Ford will temporarily stop production from Mar. 23 at its London site and from the end of Mar 25 at its Welsh facility. "Due to the dramatic impact this ongoing crisis is having on the European market and the supplier industry, we have decided to bring forward part of the summer shutdown period for our UK operations to the Easter period," Ford said.

Ford said its employees would receive payments at least equivalent to their base pay during this four-week period. The firm built over 1 million engines at its Dagenham facility in east London and its Bridgend plant in south Wales last year.

Many of the engines are made for Jaguar Land Rover, which on Thursday announced it would be closing its British factories because of the outbreak.