BRUSSELS—The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked the biggest decline in car production in Europe on record, according to data published last week by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

COVID-19 has accelerated deglobalization in manufacturing, but that shift was already underway before the pandemic. Between 1990 and 2016, global trade had been growing at average annual rate of 4.9 percent, according to the World Trade Organization.

LOUISVILLE—Approximately 20,000 active and retired Ford factory workers, their immediate family members and surviving spouses will be able to get coronavirus tests at the UAW hall here after the union’s executive board voted unanimously to hire a private laboratory to perform the tests at no cost to members.

BOXBOROUGH, MA—German contract manufacturer Vibalogics GmbH is investing $150 million and hiring 100 people for a facility here to help Big Pharma develop a COVID-19 vaccine. The company plans to open the site by the second half of 2021.

LENEXA, KS–Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. recently cut the ribbon on its new $40 million facility here dedicated to viral transport media production.

After sitting idle for weeks or even months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. assembly plants have finally restarted production, albeit with the occasional hiccup.

Growing sustainability and resilience concerns brought about by trade war uncertainty and the COVID-19 pandemic have companies looking for ways to mitigate risk and increase agility.