Mercedes-Benz Vans stopped production Monday at its Sprinter van plant in Ladson, one of the latest auto plants to close as the coronavirus spreads.

“We have taken the decision to stop our production operations today for the health and safety of our team members,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement, ABC News 4 reported. The company said it “was already preparing to ramp down its production operations this week.”

The shutdown is expected to last two weeks, the station reported. Mercedes-Benz began a two-week production suspension Monday at both the van plant and its SUV plant in Vance, Ala., WardsAuto reported.

Hours before the announcement, employees told WCSC Live 5 News that workers had walked off their shift because of coronavirus concerns.

Disinfection and questions

“As part of our production shutdown, we have implemented a step-by-step disinfection of the entire facility,” company spokesperson Alyssa Bean told Live 5. She said the plant already had other measures in place, including no external visitors or travel, social distancing and more frequent cleaning.

Officials have not confirmed whether anyone at the plant tested positive for the virus or came into contact with someone who did, Live 5 reported. Bean said the company does not comment “on the health status of our employees or their families.”

Sherlena Ward, who works on the assembly line, told the station she was concerned about her health and planned to get tested. She said she was not among the workers who walked out.

“You can always produce another van, but you can’t produce another life,” Ward said.

Workers also raised questions about their pay while they are out and how long the stoppage will last, Live 5 reported.

A company-wide pause

The Ladson shutdown is part of a broader halt by parent company Daimler, which said Monday it had stopped “the majority” of its production worldwide because of the worsening pandemic, ABC News 4 reported. Daimler said last week it would suspend most of its production in Europe for an initial two weeks.

“Daimler has taken appropriate precautions to prevent the infection of its employees,” the company said on its website, according to the station. Daimler said the pause will also help it prepare “for a period of temporarily lower demand and to protect its financial strength.”

Mercedes-Benz said in a statement Friday that the temporary halt would apply to its Tuscaloosa plant in Alabama and to Mercedes-Benz Vans LLC in Charleston, WBRC in Birmingham reported. “Operations will be resumed when the situation improves,” the company said.

“The employees’ health and safety has top priority at Mercedes-Benz,” the company said in a statement, The Post and Courier reported. “Wherever essential work is necessary, the company will continue operations in coordination with the respective authorities,” the company said, according to WardsAuto.

Other Lowcountry plants

Volvo Cars announced last week that it would suspend production at three factories in Europe and at its plant in Berkeley County, ABC News 4 reported. Boeing South Carolina continues to operate despite reporting its first positive COVID-19 case among its more than 6,800 employees, the station reported.

The Ladson plant

The Mercedes-Benz Vans plant, launched in 2006, employs 1,150 people, according to the company’s website, ABC News 4 reported.

For its first dozen years, the plant reassembled Sprinter vans that were built in Germany and shipped to the Port of Charleston in kits. In September 2018, the company opened a roughly $500 million expansion with a body shop and paint shop, letting the plant build the new-generation Sprinter from the ground up, the company said at the time.

At that opening, Amazon said it had ordered 20,000 Amazon-branded Sprinters from the plant for its Delivery Service Partner program, under which small businesses lease customized vans to deliver Amazon packages.