Ford has turn into the primary main US automaker to announce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all of its workers, becoming a member of a slew of different major companies that have already done so.
The automaker advised its roughly 32,000 salaried staff concerning the mandate in a staff-wide be aware on Tuesday, giving staff till Dec. 8 to be absolutely vaccinated, CNBC reported.
The corporate will think about non secular and medical exemptions for workers, a Ford spokesperson mentioned.
However staff who refuse to get vaccinated and don’t have an authorised non secular or medical exemption might be placed on paid depart for a most of 30 days. After that, they could possibly be terminated, in line with the spokesperson.
“The health and safety of our workforce remains our top priority and we have been very encouraged by the support of our employees to comply with our protocols, including the more than 84-percent of U.S. salaried employees who are already vaccinated,” a spokesperson advised CNBC.
Notably, some staff all through the Ford firm usually are not affected by the mandate, together with these represented by the United Auto Employees union.
Ford mentioned it’s analyzing collective bargaining agreements with its unionized staff to see whether or not it may implement a vaccine mandate.
Whereas the UAW has inspired its members to get vaccinated, it has stopped in need of supporting any company-wide mandates to take action.
“As we continue to put measures in place to protect our team, Ford will now require most US salaried employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8, which also aligns to federal contractor guidelines,” a Ford spokesperson mentioned.
With its announcement, Ford is now the primary of the so-called Massive Three automakers within the Detroit space to announce a COVID-19 mandate.
Normal Motors and Stellantis, previously Fiat Chrysler, have required salaried staff to submit their vaccination standing however haven’t required them to get jabbed.
