By Caoimhe Toman
Date: Tuesday 28 Apr 2020
LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Carmaker Ford said Tuesday that it expects to reopen its European plants starting Monday with safety measures in place to prevent the coronavirus spread.
The factories closed down in mid-March and the reopening could mean a workable template for the companies' US operations which are also shut down.
Shares of Ford were up about 5% to about $5.45 in NYSE trading on Tuesday, but remained down 44.4% thus far in 2020.
The new measures include mandatory face masks, shields, body temperature checks of everyone entering the facilities and daily wellness self-assessments.
Production at its 19 manufacturing facilities in Europe will start at a low level and prioritise sold customer vehicle orders from dealers.
A Ford spokeswoman recently told CNBC that the reopening of US production was expected as early as May.