Coronavirus Live Updates

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Begins Temporary Layoffs in U.S., Mexico The Norwegian and Swedish shipping line Wallenius Wilhelmsen has announced temporary layoffs of approximately 2,500 workers in the U.S. and Mexico. The move comes in response to the closure of numerous North American automotive plants due to the coronavirus outbreak, the line said. “While we work diligently to avoid reductions in our workforce, we have no choice but to respond to the disruption experienced by our customers and the effect it has on our operational throughput and income,” said president and CEO Craig Jasienski. The temporary layoffs amount to just over half of the line's workforce at several land-based processing centers. Wallenius Wilhelmsen specializes in roll-on/roll-off cargoes, including cars, trucks and rolling equipment, as well as breakbulk shipments. It operates a fleet of around 125 vessels serving six continents, with 120 processing centers and 11 marine terminals.

Ford Plans Gradual Restart of Plants Ford Motor Co. plans to resume production in Mexico on April 6, and some U.S. plants about a week later. After halting North American production as of March 19, Ford said it’s aiming to restart production first in Hermosillo, Mexico, which builds the Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans, according to Bloomberg. Ford then plans to restart production on April 14 at Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio plants that assemble profitable F-Series pickups and commercial vans. Other factories that make transmissions and press metal parts for those vehicles are due to resume that day. Fiat Chrysler and General Motors are also seeking to get assembly lines running again. Two union members who worked at separate Fiat Chrysler plants in Michigan died after contracting COVID-19, a union spokesman confirmed Thursday, after two others in Michigan and Indiana died last week.

Walmart Hires Thousands Walmart has taken on 25,000 new employees and given offers to thousands more in the first week of a hiring push, Bloomberg reported, as the biggest private employer in the U.S. scrambles to keep its shelves stocked and checkouts staffed. The retailer has compressed a hiring process that can often take two weeks into as little as three hours by eliminating formal interviews and written job offers.

Survey Shows Big Jump in Virus's Impact on Shopping Behavior (March 26, 7:00 p.m. ET) A new survey finds a dramatic increase in the number of shoppers affected by the coronavirus outbreak, across all ages and genders, over the last month. In the survey by First Insight, Inc., 75% of respondents said the virus is impacting their shopping behavior. That compares with 45% in a comparable survey conducted in February. The survey also identified "significant swings" in behavior by women and Baby Boomers over that time. "Both groups had been slower to change behavior based on coronavirus fears than their gender and generational counterparts," First Insight said, "but are now in greater alignment." The change is likely the result of intensified action by government to restrict movement and face-to-face interaction, said First Insight CEO Greg Petro. “This survey shows a significant shift in behavior as consumers adapt to their new reality, whether it’s increasing purchases of staple items, moving more shopping online, or cutting spending in some areas," Petro said. "The world looks very different than it did three short weeks ago, and things are likely to look different three weeks from today." The results were based on two U.S. consumer studies of targeted samples of more than 500 respondents each, conducted on February 28 and March 17, 2020.

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