GM to stop most big pickup production due to chip scarcity

DETROIT – General Motors will stop a lot of U.S. and Mexican production of its lucrative full-size pickup next week due to the continuous international scarcity of semiconductor chips.

The Detroit car manufacturer validated the production cuts Wednesday for plants in Michigan, Indiana and Mexico that produce the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.

GM has actually prevented stopping production of its big pickups this year due to the parts scarcity through aggressive supply chain methods in addition to constructing some lorries without the required chips to be finished later on. It likewise has actually cut some functions that need chips such as cordless phone battery chargers.

“The global semiconductor shortage remains complex and very fluid, but GM’s global purchasing and supply chain, engineering and manufacturing teams continue to find creative solutions and make strides working with the supply base to minimize the impact to our highest-demand and capacity-constrained vehicles, including full-size trucks and SUVs for our customers,” the business stated in an emailed declaration.

The cuts consist of momentarily stopping production next week at GM’s Fort Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana and at its assembly plant in Silao, Mexico. Its Flint Assembly plant in Michigan where durable trucks are developed, will decrease to one shift from 3 shifts too. Full production at the plants is anticipated to resume the week of Aug. 2, GM stated.

The origin of the scarcity dates to early in 2015 when Covid triggered rolling shutdowns of lorry assembly plants. As the centers closed, the wafer and chip providers diverted the parts to other sectors such as customer electronic devices, which weren’t anticipated to be as harmed by stay-at-home orders.

The issue is anticipated to cost the international automobile market $110 billion in earnings in 2021, according to speaking with company AlixPartners.