Renault ordered to halt production at Sandouville ‘until further notice’ after re-opening on April 28 – report

Renault has been ordered by a French court to suspend production after the French automaker had resumed operations at a manufacturing plant that had been found to have insufficient precautions against the coronavirus pandemic, Bangkok Post reported.

The factory in Sandouville, France has almost 2,000 employees, and resumed work on April 28 after it had stopped work on March 16 due to the virus outbreak. However, it has now been ordered to halt until further notice because the resumption “did not ensure the safety of workers in the factory facing the risk linked to Covid-19,” wrote a court order sighted by Le Poulpe.

The French court ordered that production at the site be suspended for the time it takes to effectively implement the required safety measures, while the company has been told to carry out a risk assessment. Various brands resumed production at their European facilities in mid-April, including Renault which restarted part of its operations in Portugal on April 16, and in Romania from April 21.

Hyundai reopened its factory in Nošovice, Czech Republic after a three-week shutdown, with production to be increased gradually from two out of three shifts that are active as of April 16. Audi resumed operations at its engine plant in Györ, Hungary around the same time with one assembly line active on a single shift.

Meanwhile, parent company Volkswagen has certain parts operations active in Germany to safeguard supplies to China, where the industry is still recovering. The Wolfsburg-based automaker currently has 1,700 employees working in five sites in the region.

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