Ford Kentucky Truck Plant KTP exterior

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- In a conference call Thursday afternoon, Ford Motor Company executives outlined plans for how the automaker plans to reopen but did not specify when that would occur for North American facilities. 

Ford shutdown its facilities on March 18 amid outcry from the United Auto Workers that the company wasn't doing enough to protect workers. With a new strategy in hand, Ford now says it is prepared to keep workers happy an resume operations. 

"It critical that we get this restart right. Restarting the entire auto ecosystem is how we restart the economy," COO Jim Farley said. "I have to say its a very complex work statement, but we have put a lot of thought into this."

The company did not provide a timeline of when facilities would reopen, but executives did say that "teleworkers" would likely be headed back to work in late-June or early-July. That group would be the last to come back to work.

UAW Local 862 President Todd Dunn said he expects the Kentucky Truck Plant and Louisville Assembly Plant to have workers back on the lines by May 11 or May 18. 

Executives for the company said they don't expect a region-by-region opening nationwide and instead plan to open all at once. Some workers have already returned to facilities in advance of the plan to commence productions.

"100% of our employees at every site are having their temperature checked as they come into our complexes," Chief Manufacturing and Labor Affairs Officer Gary Johnson said. "We're going to have staggered shifts. We'll allow time to begin shifts for safety stand downs, also time for employees to clean their stations to prevent any issues between shifts."

More than 12,000 workers have been laid off the Louisville Ford plants since March 20.

Executives noted repeatedly on the call "successes" at the automaker's sites in China and Thailand. Those were reopened in February after concerns about COVID-19 dwindled in those areas. In fact, they said, some additional restrictions could be used in North America that have worked overseas.

"Things we're learning overseas that we can bring back here to North America is also how we're commuting people back and forth," Johnson said. "In a lot of our foreign plants, we have busing or transportation requirements."

The company plans to implement strict social distancing rules when factories are reopened. Changes will also include temperature checks for all employees prior to entering, increased use of personal protective equipment as well as work station dividers. 

Executives also said "several options" would be available to employees with childcare issues as some states stagger opening day care facilities but did not explain in detail what those options would entail. 

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