The engines were assembled as they made their way through the assembly line at the General Motors (GM) manufacturing plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, on August 22, 2019.
Harrison McClary | Reuters
DETROIT – General Motors restarts production earlier than planned at a crossover plant in Tennessee after improving supplies for the semiconductor chips needed to produce vehicles at the facility.
The car’s Spring Hill assembly plant will return to regular production on Monday instead of April 26, a week ahead of what was initially announced Thursday by the company. The facility builds the GMC Acadia and Cadillac XT5 and XT6 crossovers.
A GM spokesman attributed the scheduling change to short-term improvements in supplies that allowed the automaker to avoid the impact of production on the plant. The United Auto Workers union on Tuesday informed Spring Hill’s more than 2,800 hourly workers of the plan change.
The company will also not stop production next week of the Chevrolet Blazer at a plant in Mexico, which was announced last week due to a shortage of chips. Other plant shutdowns due to disruption of parts in Michigan, Kansas and Canada remain unchanged.
“Following our announcement last Thursday, April 8, GM’s supply chain organization has moved forward working with our supply base to mitigate the short-term impacts of the semiconductor situation in both the Assembly and Spring Hill as in the Branches Assembly, ”GM said in an email statement.
Automotive executives have characterized the shortage of chips as fluid. GM, Ford Motor and others have said the shortage will reduce their revenue by billions in 2021.
Semiconductors are key components in automotive that are used in infotainment systems, power steering and braking, among other things. As several plants closed last year due to Covid, suppliers shifted semiconductors to carmakers to other industries, creating a shortage after consumer demand fell more sharply than it did. ‘I expected. The parts can contain several different sizes and types of chips.
The change in fortune for GM, while unrelated, comes a day after CEO Mary Barra and other business leaders in the automotive, technology and various sectors met with President Joe Biden to discuss the shortage of chips of ongoing semiconductors.
After the meeting, GM, Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) and a lobby group for Detroit automakers issued statements saying they were grateful that the Biden administration held the meeting and was prioritizing the issue. They said they looked forward to working with Biden to address the shortage, as well as long-term guarantees for the supply of these parts.