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VW, Airbus Shut Plants as Pandemic Slams European Industry

German carmaker joins Daimler, Ford, PSA in halting output
Airbus to close main factory in Toulouse for four-day cleaning

Volkswagen AG Outlook Darkens on Virus Fears — Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

By

Christoph Rauwald and

March 17, 2020, 6:03 AM UTCUpdated onMarch 17, 2020, 5:57 PM UTC

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Europe’s biggest industrial manufacturers from Volkswagen AG and Airbus SE to Daimler AG are taking unprecedented steps to idle plants across the region as the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak inflicts increasingly greater economic pain.