Dutch multinationals are keeping a close eye on the course of the corona virus, but major problems remain. Most companies do, however, have rules to prevent the possible spread of the virus among employees.
At food giant Unilever, for example, the number of trips to risk areas such as China is being limited as much as possible. Employees who have been to China or some areas in Italy for work or vacation are asked to stay at home for 14 days and to monitor for symptoms themselves.
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That strategy appears to be popular. Also at chipmaker NXP they keep colleagues who have been in China two weeks away from the workplace. Trips to the country have even been completely stopped, says spokesman Martijn van der Linden.
Even if you feel sick as an NXP employee, the company asks you to go and work at home.
And although the virus is starting to do considerable damage to the global economy, the chip maker is still running at full speed. But the spokesperson cannot rule out the fact that in the short term the company still has to lay down part of the work, for example because demand is lost. “I don’t dare to look into the future.”
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Stay at home when in doubt
At chip machine maker ASML, people seem to be less concerned about the impact on the company. “So far it is manageable,” says spokesperson Monique Mols. But the long-term consequences cannot really be estimated, ASML also thinks.
At ASML, people do not have to sit at home preventively, but employees are asked to pay careful attention to whether they show any symptoms. The motto: “Call a doctor in case of doubt and stay at home when in doubt.”
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Follow the RIVM
Shell wants to say very little about how the company deals with the virus. The company has plans to ensure that the company can continue to run, a spokesperson e-mails.
One by one, the companies say they are keeping a close eye on everything and are following the advice of local authorities, such as RIVM in the Netherlands.
Incidentally, the institute writes that people from risk areas can go to work as normal and only have to go into home quarantine if they show symptoms of the disease. Many large companies prefer to take the certain for the uncertain.
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