A employee of Hyundai Motor has been tested positive for the deadly coronavirus leading to a suspension of production at one of its factories in South Korea. Shares of the automaker dropped more than 5% after the news, while the wider market was down 2.6%. The closing deals a fresh setback to Hyundai Motor, which has slowly reduced production at local plants. South Korea has the most infected people outside China, affecting companies like Samsung and Hyundai. South Korea on Friday reported 256 cases, bringing the total number of infected cases to 2,002. The company has also placed colleagues who came in close contact with the infected employee in self-quarantine and taken steps to have them tested for the infection.
In a statement released by the company it added that it was disinfecting the factory. Ulsan is less than an hour from Daegu, the epicentre of outbreak in Korea. Hyundai operates five car factories in Ulsan which has an annual production capacity of 1.4 million vehicles, or nearly 30% of Hyundai's global production. The motor giants employees 34,000 workers in world's biggest car complex. The factory that was shut down produces sports utility vehicles. Meanwhile, South Korea's top airline revealed on Friday that it would cut the number of flights to the United States in March.
It plans to check tempratures of passengers travelling to the United States before boarding and said it would not allow anyone with a temprature higher than 37.5 Celsius to fly. One of its flight attendants who served the Incheon to LA route has tested positive for Coronavirus.