General Motors and Ford are extending production shutdowns at a number of factories throughout North America as the chip shortage continues to impact the automotive industry.
GM confirmed in a statement that it will make production cuts at factories in Tennessee, Mexico, Ontario, and various sites in Michigan. Among the sites hit by the latest cuts is the Spring Hill, Tennessee plant that handles production of the Cadillac XT5, XT6, and GMC Acadia, which will be shut during the weeks of April 12 and 19.
Similarly, production of the Chevrolet Blazer at the Ramos Arizpe site in Mexico will stop for the week of April 19 while the Lansing Grand River plant that builds the Chevrolet Camaro, Cadillac CT4, and Cadillac CT5 will remain shut through the week of April 26, ABC reports.
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GM will also extend downtime at facilities in Kansas and Canada that build the Chevrolet Malibu, Equinox, and Cadillac XT4 through mid-May. At the Lansing Delta Township plant, production of the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave will be halted for a week starting April 19.
General Motors predicts the chip shortage will cost it up to $2 billion in pre-tax profits.
Ford will shut its Flat Rock Assembly plant in Michigan and the Transit production line at the Kansas City Assembly Plant during the week of April 12. The automaker predicts the shortage could lower its earnings by $1 billion to $2.5 billion in 2021.
“The Ford team continues to work to find solutions to the industry-wide global semiconductor shortage,” the Blue Oval told CNBC. “For instance, we are planning to operate more U.S. assembly plants during more weeks this summer than we have in more than 15 years so we can build our must-have vehicles for dealers and customers.”
