Automakers help restart US industry as globe reopens further
Source: AP
By COLLEEN LONG, TOM KRISHER and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER
WARREN, Mich. (AP) More than 130,000 autoworkers returned to factories across the U.S. for the first time in nearly two months Monday in one of the biggest steps yet to restart American industry, while an experimental vaccine against the coronavirus yielded encouraging results in a small and extremely early test.
Stocks rallied on the vaccine news and signs that the worst of the crisis has passed in many countries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared about 900 points, or nearly 4%.
In a surprise announcement, President Donald Trump said hes been taking a malaria drug to protect against the virus even though his own administration has warned it should only be administered in a hospital or research setting because of potentially fatal side effects.
Automakers put screening procedures in place as Detroits Big Three Fiat Chrysler, General Motors and Ford as well as Honda and Toyota reopened dozens of factories from the Great Lakes states south to Tennessee and Texas and out west to Teslas factory near the San Francisco Bay. No one was immediately cranking out vehicles, because it will take time to get the plants restarted. But workers appeared reassured by the precautions.
United Auto Workers members leave the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Warren Truck Plant after the first work shift, Monday, May 18, 2020, in Warren, Mich. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV along with rivals Ford and General Motors Co., restarted the assembly lines on Monday after several week of inactivity due to the corona virus pandemic. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Read more: https://apnews.com/320ca04bc523b292360f56943a62db8e