General Motors hit by chip shortage, to cut production at four plants

General Motors became the latest automaker hit by the worldwide shortage of semiconductor chips as the U.S. automaker said on Wednesday it will cut production next week at four assembly plants.

GM said it will cut production entirely during the week of February 8 at plants in Fairfax, Kansas; Ingersoll, Ontario; and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. It will also run its Bupyeong 2 plant in South Korea at the half capacity that week.

GM did not reveal how much volume it would lose or which provider was affected by the chip shortage, but said the focus has been on keeping production running at plants building the highest-profit vehicles – full-size pickup trucks and SUVs and also the Chevrolet Corvette sports car. GM said it aims to make up as much lost production as possible.

AutoForecast Solutions, which tracks production, estimated GM’s combined lost volume would total nearly 10,000 vehicles by the next week.

“Despite our mitigation efforts, the semiconductor shortage will impact GM production in 2021,” GM spokesman David Barnas informed Reuters.

On Tuesday, 15 U.S. senators, including some from major automotive states like Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, and South Carolina, urged the White House to work with Congress to address the chip shortage.