AUTOMOTIVE NEWS: Faurecia Delays Plan to Reopen Saline Plant for Tesla Work

By Alexa St. John
Automotive News

French seating and interiors supplier Faurecia told employees this week that work will resume at the plant on Michigan Avenue on May 4, after earlier asking some employees to start work next week, while the state's stay-at-home order is still in effect, trade publication Automotive News reported on Wednesday.

As automakers make plans to ramp up amid COVID-19, Faurecia and many suppliers are caught between customer needs for parts to resume vehicle assembly and state orders limiting commercial activity to those necessary for sustaining and protecting life.

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's current stay-at-home order that prohibits public gatherings, motor boating and in-state residence-to-residence travel is in effect until May 1. The Michigan Manufacturers Association has asked Whitmer to amend her stay-at-home order to allow automakers and suppliers to resume production, CEO John Walsh told Crain’s Detroit Business on Wednesday. Crain’s is an affiliate of Automotive News.

While the order makes exceptions for transportation-related work, it doesn't explicitly endorse automotive manufacturing, said Walsh. The organization has asked Whitmer to call it essential.

"We've been advocating that the governor modify her original executive order to … clarify the automotive industry as an essential industry," Walsh told Crain's Detroit Business, a sibling publication of Automotive News.

While some auto companies have slowly returned to work in other parts of the world, last week several automakers and suppliers began targeting the first and second weeks of May to restart vehicle production in the U.S. Walsh said manufacturers have notified suppliers "that it's time to get started."

Faurecia posted a memo for its Saline, Mich., employees on April 17 telling them to report to work on Monday, April 27, to restart production for Tesla Inc., the popular electric car manufacturer based in California. The injection molding plant in Saline, which last year employed 1,900 members of UAW Local 892, supplies interior parts to Tesla, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, the union said. Those parts include instrument panels and center consoles. The memo was widely distributed to employees on April 21 via text.

Faurecia also informed its employees in its April 17 memo, obtained by the Saline Post and Automotive News, that the plant would restart on May 4 for Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

But on Wednesday, Faurecia backtracked on its Tesla production plans in another memo to employees, saying the target date is now May 4 and that "production will not start on 4/27 as previously indicated."

Workers were told that upon return to the plant, the recommended 6-foot rule for social distancing in the workplace would apply only to employees that did not have a mask — otherwise, all employees will be working at a 3-foot distance, a Faurecia plant employee who requested to remain anonymous told Automotive News. At least 75 employees work on Faurecia's Tesla shift.

"I don't feel that, with the governor's order still in place, that anyone should be going in there right now," said the employee, who has not reported to work since March 19 per state orders.

"They [initially] said they were going to give us a letter saying we were essential in case we got stopped or anything like that, for being out and about," the employee added.

An executive at a major North American supplier told Automotive News that it "would be normal" for Tesla to ask suppliers to produce parts next week in preparation for auto assembly to resume at its flagship plant in Fremont, Calif., on May 4.

A Tesla spokesman did not respond to a request for comment from Automotive News on plans to resume production.

On Wednesday, Whitmer said she had phone calls with the CEOs of the Detroit 3 automakers as well as UAW President Rory Gamble about the safety protocols the automakers are putting in place to restart assembly plants in May.

"I understand that they've got some issues to work through and at the appropriate time I am hopeful we can analyze what the protocols are and start to slowly re-engage in a safe manner," Whitmer said at a press conference. 

Gamble, in a statement released late Wednesday by the UAW, said the UAW the Detroit 3 continue to meet daily to discuss "best practices for the health and safety of UAW Ford, General Motors and FCA members." 

"These talks are fluid and ongoing to ensure safe protocols are followed when the companies reopen," Gamble's statement said. "While there was positive discussion, the talks continue. The one thing that is a priority of all parties is the health and safety of UAW Ford, General Motors and FCA employees, their families and their communities."

Though Faurecia stepped back on its planned restart, on Wednesday morning, more than 30 vehicles were parked in the main Faurecia employee parking lot in downtown Saline, and several vehicles were coming and going.

The employee said she was asked last week if she would be willing to report to work voluntarily as early as this week to start ensuring a smooth return to production, and that she declined.

A spokesman for the UAW told Automotive News that workers returning to Faurecia for Tesla were supposed to be volunteers and the company will be implementing safety procedures in the plant. He also repeated Gamble's statement on members returning to work.

Negotiations between the UAW and the Detroit 3 over terms of restarting production have been ongoing.

A Faurecia spokesman said the company does not comment on customer production schedules, and could not comment further at this time. The company, based near Paris in Nanterre, France, ranks No. 9 on the Automotive News list of the world’s largest auto suppliers with global sales from automakers of $20.7 billion in 2018.

The Saline ZIP code, 48176, had 58 reported cases of the virus as of Wednesday, April 22. The Faurecia spokesman said the plant in Saline has no confirmed cases of COVID-19.

"None of us want to go back, because we think that it's not safe yet," the employee said. "We don't want to be the guinea pigs."

Automotive News, Crain’s Detroit Business and The Saline Post contributed to this report.

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