A COVID-19 case has led Hyundai to shut down its factory in Alabama
- Hyundai said that a COVID-19 case had emerged at its Montgomery, Alabama, factory and that the facility had closed Wednesday morning.
- Hyundai follows GM, Ford, FCA, and Honda is closing North American factories amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak.
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On Wednesday, Hyundai announced that a COVID-19 case at is factory in Montgomery, Alabama, and said that it had shut down the plant in the morning.
The plant is known as "Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama" (HMMA) and has been open since the early 2000s.
"HMMA has already deployed additional sanitation measures across the entire facility and will now follow ADPH's protocols for disinfecting the affected work area," Hyundai said in statement, adding that it was conferring with the Alabama Dept. of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control on additional steps.
"The health and well-being of our Team Members is a top priority for our company," Hyundai said.
"We are following ADPH's protocols for disinfecting the affected work area and deploying additional sanitation measures across the entire facility. Once HMMA's environment, health, and safety team have determined that the affected area has been sufficiently sanitized and production is safe to resume, our team members will be informed."
As the coronavirus outbreak worsens in North America, General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have shut down all their factories, in consultation with the United Auto Workers, which represents some 150,000 workers.
Honda also announced that it was shutting down its facilities in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Hyundai didn't specify how long the Montgomery plant would be idled. But other plant closures could range from six days to the end of March.