(Reuters) – The managers at Green Circuits — a small Silicon Valley electronics factory — thought they would have to close when the San Francisco Bay Area directed non-essential businesses to shut almost three weeks ago.
A masked worker moves a cart at Green Circuits as the company, an essential business, adapts to operating during the outbreak of the fast-spreading coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in San Jose, California, U.S., April 2, 2020. Picture taken April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Stephen Lam
But messages soon flowed in from customers telling them their parts were needed for things like medical and defense equipment. One customer is now rushing to build ventilators that might use printed circuit boards made by Green Circuits.
What happened next is occurring, in some form, at factories across the United States. While some, including sprawling auto assembly plants, have halted production lines and laid off or furloughed workers, those that make goods deemed essential are scrambling to keep moving and struggling to keep frightened workers on the job.
“The defense customers were the first to let us know” that they had to keep producing, said Joseph O’Neil, the company’s chief executive officer. They said “meet our delivery dates, or we will show up to help you do it,” he added.
His first move was to redesign the plant’s work schedule