A General Motors employee works at the automaker’s plant in Wentzville, Missouri, on December 13, 2019.
Photo by Melissa Vaeth for General Motors
General Motors will suspend production of its midsize pickups due to a persistent global shortage of semiconductor chips. It is the latest outage as the automaker is prioritizing the production of its larger, more profitable pickups and full-size SUVs.
The downtime at the Missouri plant begins Monday and will run through April 12, according to a report to workers Wednesday from the local United Auto Workers union. It produces GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado pickups. According to GM, the production of vans at the factory will not be affected.
GM will also postpone the planned plant downtime for two weeks to May 24 through July 19 to give “more time to build the product” during the second half of the year, the union said. GM spokesman David Barnas confirmed the plans.
In addition to the pickups, Barnas said GM is extending downtime at a mid-Michigan auto plant by two weeks to mid-April. GM has temporarily halted or discontinued production at several factories that produce cars or crossovers to prioritize the production of its full-size pickups and SUVs.
“GM will continue to use every semiconductor available to build and ship our most popular and in-demand products, including full-size trucks and SUVs for our customers,” he said in an emailed statement. “Due to the shortage, we have not included any downtime or fewer shifts at any of our full-size truck factories.”
GM plants in Kansas and Ingersoll, Ontario, which closed in early February due to the shortage of chips, are expected to remain closed until at least mid-April. GMO plants in Brazil and South Korea were also hit by the shortage. A factory in Mexico is expected to reopen on April 5 after being closed since February 8.
GM’s moves are the most recent as the auto industry tries to deal with the global chip shortage after suppliers diverted chips from the auto industry during factory shutdowns last spring over Covid. Consulting firm AlixPartners estimates that the chip shortage will reduce $ 60.6 billion in revenues from the global auto industry this year.
Semiconductor chips are extremely important components of new vehicles for infotainment systems, power steering and brakes, among other things. The parts can contain different sizes and different types of chips.
GM expects its chip shortage to reduce $ 1.5 billion to $ 2.5 billion from its free cash flow by 2021.