Vauxhall will begin to resume production at its Ellesmere Port factory on 17 August, despite initially suggesting that it would be shut until at least the start of September due to low demand for the Astra hatch produced there.
The factory near Liverpool has been shut since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, and remained closed despite other European facilities owned by the British firm’s parent company, the PSA Group, opening. Those plants included the Vauxhall factory in Luton, which added a third production shift utilising volunteer workers from Ellesmere Port due to high demand for the commercial vehicles produced there.
PSA Group manufacturing boss Yann Vincent has now confirmed that manufacturing will resume at Ellesmere Port in mid-August, and work is underway with unions to introduce more than 100 health and safety protocols developed by the PSA Group to combat the spread of Covid-19.
Policies include social distancing measures, employee temperature checks, compulsory use of glasses, goggles and masks on site, and extra cleaning measures.
“As industrial activity is driven by commercial activity, we are gradually and safely resuming our industrial activity at Ellesmere Port,” Vincent said. “I would particularly like to praise the contribution of the Ellesmere Port employees who have supported the ramp-up of the production of Luton plant with a temporary transfer.”
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