Scania to halt production in Brazil for 10 days because of pandemic, says labor union

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After Volkswagen, Scania will halt the production of vehicles in São Bernardo do Campo (SP) for 10 days, according to the ABC Metalworkers Union, which met to negotiate with the assembler.

The halt in activities occurs due to the worsening of the pandemic and the overcrowding of ICUs in several cities in the country. According to the union, the plant will operate until this Thursday, March 25th, then suspend its activities and only resume production on April 5th, after Easter.

The truck and bus assembler is the second company from the ABC region to announce the suspension of the activities in this period. On Friday, March 19th, Volkswagen confirmed the interruption of manufacturing operations from Wednesday, March 24th to April 5th, totaling 12 days.

The company has plants in the São Bernardo do Campo, Taubaté and São Carlos cities in São Paulo state, besides a plant in São José dos Pinhais (PR).

Volkswagen also attributes the stoppage to the worsening of the pandemic, with an increase in the occupancy rate of ICU beds in the states. “The company adopts this measure in order to preserve the health of its employees and their families. Only essential activities will be maintained in the plants,” the automaker said in a statement.

In April last year, the Covid crisis altered the entire vehicle production chain, leading to the suspension of the assembly lines of all brands in Brazil. The auto sector experienced its worst industrial moment since the 1950s.

After the announcement of the Volkswagen stoppage, the pressure for a total stoppage in the region increased. The ABC Metalworkers Union says it is still negotiating with the other companies in the region.

GM had already stopped the production of Onix, the best selling car in the country, due to lack of parts. The forecast was that the plant in Gravataí, where the model is produced, would return in June. The automaker, however, postponed the return to the following month, July.