Škoda Auto resumed production at its plants in Mladá Boleslav, Kvasiny, and Vrchlabí today. The shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic lasted six weeks.
The company will initially run two shifts instead of three. Resumption of production to full capacity will depend on the current situation around coronavirus, customer demands, and supplier options. “We will go slower than we are used to. We will not go three shifts, we will not go to full capacity, we will devote time to disinfection and cleaning of work stations,” Skoda’s spokesman said.
The resumption of production will be accompanied by more than 80 hygiene measures. The company will provide employees with face masks, and work stations will be regularly disinfected. In addition to the obligation to wear a face mask, employees are given extra time to clean tools, telephones, keyboards, materials, and surfaces.
Škoda Auto stopped production due to coronavirus on 18 March. The company delivered 1.24 million cars worldwide last year. It employs almost 39,000 employees, of which nearly 34,000 are in the Czech Republic.
The estimated monthly declines in car sales in the Czech Republic exceed 50 billion crowns due to production shutdowns during the coronavirus epidemic. Auto production in the Czech Republic fell 11 percent in the first quarter and 36 percent In March.