The Hyundai manufacturing plant in Montgomery is resuming work on a partial basis this week after being shut down for over four weeks due to coronavirus precautions.
The plant will operate one shift per day for the remainder of the week, and will resume operations at full capacity next week, according to reports Monday from WSFA and the Montgomery Advertiser.
The plant first idled on March 18 and extended the stoppage on multiple occasions as the nation hunkered down during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The employees working this week volunteered to do so.
Robert Burns, a human resources executive at Hyundai, detailed to WSFA the extensive safety precautions the plant has put in place in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
The plant has rearranged how workers are arranged on the floor so as many people as possible are six feet apart. The facility has also installed physical dividers and hand sanitizing stations.
Shifts have been cut from eight to seven hours; only one shift of employees will be in the building at a time.
All plant employees will be required to wear masks and will walk past heat-detecting cameras at every entrance that can identify those with fevers.
One employee at the Montgomery plant died from COVID-19 in early April.
All Hyundai employees have retained their medical, dental and vision benefits while the plant has been idle, but they were forced to either use vacation time or go on unemployment to sustain their income according to AlabamaNewsNetwork.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
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