The corona virus is starting to get pretty around in Europe. In Italy, this already has fairly strong consequences, because in some areas daily life is partially halted there. The Italian MTA is also closing its doors and, as a result, fears a rapid production stop at several European car factories.
The MTA factory, located in northern Italy, supplies parts to various European car manufacturers on a large scale. It is also just in a region where things are partly locked due to the advancing corona virus. In an official statement, MTA announced that it had to close the plant ‘until further notice’ in order to comply with Italy’s regulations regarding the virus. The company’s 600 employees are now at home.
That is obviously a damper for the company itself, but people are also worried about the bigger picture. According to MTA, the cessation of their supply to manufacturers means that Fiat will see three factories fall still this week. Next week ‘all other FCA factories in Europe will follow, including Renault, BMW and Peugeot’.
A strong warning, with which MTA reinforces their request to the Italian authorities – under strict control – to let some of its staff work. MTA hopes to be able to continue with a thorough health check at ten percent of the normal capacity. With this, the company wants to prevent other factories and car brands from being dragged into ‘this economic and social burden’.