Ford is delaying the restart of production at its North America plants to help protect its workers.

Ford Motor Company, in collaboration with GE Healthcare, announced today it will begin producing in Michigan a third-party ventilator with the goal to produce 50,000 of the vitally needed units within 100 days.

Ford is aiming to restart production at select plants in North America as early as April 6, bringing key plants back online while the company introduces additional safety measures to protect returning workers.

Ford Motor Company is issuing two safety recalls for North America and one for Canada only.

The following statement may be attributed to Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s president of North America.

Jim Baumbick, vice president, Enterprise Product Line Management, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F); Mike Kesti, global technical director, 3M Personal Safety Division; and Tom Westrick, vice president and chief quality officer, GE Healthcare, will host a news conference call at 8:00 a.m. EDT today.

Ford Motor Company, joining forces with firms including 3M and GE Healthcare, is lending its manufacturing and engineering expertise to quickly expand production of urgently needed medical equipment and supplies.

Ford Motor Company is temporarily suspending vehicle and engine production at its International Markets Group (IMG) manufacturing sites in response to the growing impact of the coronavirus.

Ford is working closely with all our partners as we navigate through the current Coronavirus effects across the globe and our business operations.

Ford Motor Company will temporarily suspend production at its manufacturing sites in Brazil and at the Pacheco plant in Argentina, in response to the growing impact of the coronavirus in South America.