While much of the talk in the motorcycle industry right now is what factories are closing, and how to recover from the devastation the coronavirus is having on the world economy, one motorcycle brand is taking a different tack.
MV Agusta has announced today that it has decided to keep its factory open in Varese, despite the Lombardy region being one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak in Italy.
The Italian brand says it has come to this decision in agreement with its workers’ representatives, and that the factory will operate in full compliance with Italian restrictions and quarantines concerning the health epidemic.
MV Agusta says that its factory will work with a reduced staff, with a number of measures put in place to prevent and contain the spread of the virus, such supplying face masks, gloves, sanitizing gels, and detergents, as well as restricting gatherings of workers.
“We believe it is our duty not to give up in this crisis situation, so that the economy of this community can recover once the emergency is over,” said MV Agusta CEO Timur Sardarov.
“We took this decision with a great sense of responsibility, towards our employees in the first place, but also towards our local community, which cannot afford a breakdown of its production capability, and towards all the related industries on which so many workers and their families depend.”
“The company has implemented all the information, prevention and containment measures required by the circumstances. We are determined to continue doing our best to support this community, fully respecting the rules and with maximum safety.”
With the situation with the coronavirus changing almost daily at this point, it remains to be seen how long MV Agusta can keep the doors open to its factory, especially when so many others are closing.
MV Agusta’s decision though is certainly a curious one, though it highlights the struggle on how to balance concerns over the coronavirus. In the short-term, there are issues of containment and preserving health, and on the long-term there are concerns of goods and services continuing to flow, and workers being able to pay for them, so that life can continue.
In whole though, the motorcycle industry, like all other industries, will have to contend with what this global outbreak means for its businesses, especially with supply chains and markets stretch around the world.
We have yet to fully appreciate the ramifications that the COVID-19 disease will have on the motorcycle industry, and industry as a whole.
Source: MV Agusta
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