Nissan, PSA and Renault seek to pull staff from China’s virus-hit areas
International carmakers, including Nissan and France’s PSA and Renault, plan to begin pulling foreign staff from plants in the parts of China that have been hit by the coronavirus, reports Peter Campbell.
Nissan is preparing to send home its Japanese staff in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, on a government-chartered flight, a spokesperson said.
The Japanese carmaker’s Chinese partner Dongfeng is building a plant that will be used by the companies’ joint venture DFL to build vehicles.
French carmaker PSA is also attempting to evacuate non-Chinese nationals from its three production sites in the region, the company said on Monday.
It intends to remove some 38 people, including expatriates and their families, to France to be put in quarantine, a spokesman said.
Renault, working with French authorities, is offering expatriates from its Wuhan plant the option to leave the country temporarily, a spokesman said.
General Motors, which owns a site with SAIC that employs 6,000 workers, said it is “continuing to monitor the situation very closely”.
A spokesman added: “We are advising our team members to follow official guidance on steps to prevent exposure to and transmission of the virus, and we are relieved that at last report none of our employees has contracted the virus.”
Honda and Geely also have facilities in the area, which is a large car producing region of China.
All of the car plants have been closed for the lunar new year period, though it is not yet clear whether they will open as planned at the start of February.
Source: Economy - ft.com
