In an era of automation, robotics and spotless factory floors, you don’t expect to see car workers dragging metal along a production line. But at Volkswagen’s main Wolfsburg plant earlier this year, workers had to resort to handing metal sheets to robots working on the e-Golf, according to witnesses.
Fiat plans to extend temporary layoffs at its main Mirafiori factory in Italy amid slumping car demand in Europe and a dispute with unions over labor contracts, three people familiar with the matter said.
In its push for more efficient auto factories, Ford Motor Co. is zeroing in a new manufacturing cost item: unhealthy Ford workers.
