The Dutch press is reporting that Gazelle, one of the brands owned by the Pon group, is halting production at its main plant in  Dieren, Netherlands. According to a report in Nieuws Fiets, production has halted for at least three weeks due to the Covid-19 pandemic in an effort to protect employees, dealers and suppliers from contracting the coronavirus.
Shutting down production was a further response of Gazelle to the coronavirus pandemic. the company had already recently decided to reduce the number of production hours in view of possible future shortages or supply problems of components. As there are now too many uncertainties in the supply of parts, it was decided to temporarily completely stop production as of Friday, March 20.  "We are closely monitoring the situation as a result of the coronavirus. We monitor the situation every day," PR manager Lisette Kars told Nieuws Fiets. "We appeal to the emergency measures that the cabinet has taken and also focus on preserving the jobs for our employees."

Accell Group
The news follows closely on the heels of a similar report that Accell Group has decided not to renew or to temporarily terminate the contracts of 150 flexible production workers form the company's factories in The Netherlands as a response to developments of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the report, Accell is taking similar measures at its plant in Hungary.
“This is not an easy decision because our flexible employees are part of our family. However, we have to adjust our business operations to the current situation,” Regional Director Accell Benelux, Sten van der Ham told Nieuws Fiets.
Over the past month, Accell Group has seen its share price plummet by over 50% from 27.65 euros on February 24 to 12.60 euros on March 23.