Coronavirus: Groupe PSA begins opening manufacturing sites

Group PSA, manufacturer of the Peugeot, Citroën, DS and Vauxhall brands, will begin opening production facilities this week.

The carmaker says it has implemented new health protocols for its employees, to create the necessary conditions for the safe and gradual return to work.

They include, taking the temperature of staff, requiring them to wear masks on site and also respecting safety distances between people in meeting rooms, at each station or in break zones.

Yann Vincent, executive vice president of manufacturing at Groupe PSA, said: “Protecting our employees and protecting our company remain the two intangible principles for the conduct of our operations.

“Our enhanced measures protocol offers a high level of protection to our employees and is the first criterion for restarting our production sites.

“As industrial activity is driven by commercial activity, which is our second criterion, we are gradually and securely relaunching our industrial apparatus to manufacture the cars expected by our customers.

“These two criteria will guide our decisions for the coming weeks and months.”

No date has been confirmed for Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port’s production line to start rolling again. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, is expected to reveal details of how the Government intends to re-start the economy later this week, with suggested measures having been shared with unions and business over the weekend.

Ellesmere Port’s management team has invited the union Unite, representing plant employees, to make a final review of its new safety protocols, before a resumption of manufacturing activity can begin. 

These protocols include checking employees’ temperatures, the wearing of glasses and masks, and respecting safe distances between people.

It includes more than 100 measures, covering all of the company's activities at an industrial, administrative, R&D and commercial level.