In Gibson County, 7,000 employees are returning to work at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana (TMMI) factory, but as they return, they will be welcomed back with new safety precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

On May 11, around 2,000 workers returned to their work stations for training on the new policies surrounding the coronavirus and the safety regulations that follow. The remainder of the employees returned to work on May 15.

“The last seven weeks have been extremely busy,” TMMI President Leah Curry told Inside Indiana Business. “Across North America, we’ve been working on protocols and procedures to put in place.” 

Curry told Inside Indiana Business that there have been at least 100 new guidelines that have been put in place since the coronavirus pandemic started, some of which will include the stacks of personal protective gear that will be used to keep workers safe. 

“Knowing how to wear a mask. How to put it on and how to take it off and how to store it. There are probably 10 different things you need to know about just wearing a mask,” Curry told Inside Indiana Business.

March 23 is when the company decided it was in the best interest to suspend operations, but Toyota will begin some of the auto production this week, while other areas will be focusing on the new protocols that are in place, Inside Indiana Business reported. 

Curry expects that a few vehicles will be completed soon but that the majority of the focus will be on the new safety measures in place.

“We’re doing that to give team members extra time – longer breaks, time to clean workstations, staggered breaks and lunches” Curry told Inside Indiana Business.

Curry expects the company to be up to 40% production by early next week and continue to ramp up as the weeks go on and as new safety measures are established. Curry said she believes that full productions will not be solid until the summer of 2020, according to Inside Indiana Business.