‘Detroit Three’ join Europe’s carmakers in closing factories with millions of workers hit

Millions of workers’ jobs are on the line as the global motor industry comes to a complete standstill.

Volkswagen and other major manufacturers in the US and Europe have suspended operations. Picture: Getty Images

The car industry is grinding to a halt after the Detroit Three joined European makers in announcing imminent closures overnight.

Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler will begin shuttering factories in the US, Canada and Mexico after several workers tested positive at sites in Michigan and Indiana.

The shutdowns will last until at least the end of the month and add to Nissan, Honda and Toyota, which had already announced temporary halts to their North American operations.

Toyota will also suspend production at five facilities across Europe while BMW added its brands, which include Mini and Rolls-Royce, to the roster of closures.

The two were among the last to declare an inability to operate after a string of commitments to shut this week. Almost the entire European car industry – with 300 factories directly employing 2.6m – will be silent within days.

Workers leave a FCA truck plant in Detroit. Picture: AFP

Germany will be hardest hit with 850,000 workers at 43 plants churning out almost one-third of the 19m vehicles built in Europe.

Porsche and BMW, which will also close its factory in South Africa, declared closure plans overnight Australian time.

They followed Volkswagen, which made its move on Wednesday shortly after Daimler, maker of Mercedes, said a shortage of supplies would force a two-week halt at its plants.

The automotive industries in Korea and Japan were among the earliest impacted by a lack of parts after coronavirus in China played havoc with industry supply lines. With thousands of parts needed to make every car, even a minor component can bring assembly to a halt.

Aside from the car factories themselves, a further 1m are employed in Europe’s parts industry although many of the largest, including Bosch and Continental, said they would keep running as long as they still have orders to fill.

Almost daily closure notices began in Italy, the European nation worst hit by the virus, a week ago. Ferrari will shut today, following similar moves by Fiat, Maserati and Lamborghini. Italy produces 1m vehicles a year from two-dozen plants.

As well as parts supply issues, the industry was already facing a global slowdown in demand and figures for the first two months of the year show Europe sales down 7.5 per cent.

That is likely to get much worse, with demand slumping 80 per cent in China during the peak impact of the virus.

Other nations with large car industries will also be hard hit, led by France, Spain and the UK, with a total of around 550,000 in automotive jobs.

Nissan’s large factory in Sunderland, in the north of England, along with facilities run by Honda and BMW will all shut while Jaguar Land Rover could be among the last to end production with a pledge to keep going until the end of this week.

Workers assemble Ford vehicles at the Chicago Assembly Plant. Picture: Getty Images

Spain, one of Europe’s largest producers, will feel the affect of SEAT’s closure along with operations run by Ford, Nissan and Daimler.

Renault and Peugeot Citroen were among the first to close, affecting facilities in France but also Poland and Slovenia.

Eastern Europe has become a large production centre over the past decade as companies have sought to lower costs, and the industry directly employs more than half a million across Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. A further 170,000 will also be affected by Skoda’s shut down in the Czech Republic.

Europe is second only to China in global vehicle production, which generates almost €140bn in annual export revenue.