Plant shutdowns hit 1.1 million auto workers in Europe - ACEA

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The coronavirus crisis and plant shutdowns have affected the jobs of at least 1,1 million Europeans working in automobile manufacturing, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) said on Tuesday.

The association's figure of 1,110,107 refers only to those directly employed by car, truck, van and bus manufacturers, with the impact on the wider automotive supply chain being even bigger, it said.

The wider sector provides jobs for 13.8 million people across the European Union, ACEA said.

EU-wide production losses from factory shutdowns amount to 1,231,038 motor vehicles so far. The average shutdown duration is 16 working days.

“Right now, the primary concern of ACEA and all its members is to manage the immediate crisis facing the auto industry, which has essentially come to an abrupt halt,” ACEA Director General Eric-Mark Huitema said in a statement.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by David Goodman)