General Motors Co. it will halt production at several U.S. factories and expand the shutdowns to others due to the prolonged shortage of semiconductor chips that is disrupting the auto industry’s hopes of recovering this year.
The automaker said Thursday that three plants that were previously unaffected by the shortage of chips will be slowed or production will be reduced for a week or two, including a factory in Tennessee and another in Michigan that make sports vehicles. of medium size. Affected vehicles include the Chevrolet Traverse SUV and the Cadillac XT5 and XT6 SUVs.
GM will also extend the closures of a factory in the Kansas City area and a plant in Ontario until May 10. Both facilities have been closed since February, as GM diverts chips from less popular models to large vans and SUVs, which are its biggest benefit. producers.
“GM continues to take advantage of all available semiconductors to build and ship our most popular and in-demand products,” a company spokesman said. So far, GM has avoided stopping at the four factories where it manufactures the company’s largest trucks and SUVs, he said.
Meanwhile, GM said it would resume production on April 12 at a Missouri factory that manufactures medium-sized trucks and has been inactive for two weeks due to a shortage of chips.