Daimler and Volkswagen decrease working hours due to chip shortage

Daimler and Volkswagen are cutting working hours at some of their plants as the automakers continue to have a hard time due to the continued shortage of semiconductors.

Daimler is decreasing working hours this week at its Bremen and Rastatt plants. According to the automaker’s spokesman, the situation was volatile and they can’t make a forecast on the impact at this moment.

Volkswagen will decrease working hours at its Wolfsburg factory from next week.

The chip shortage, which has hit automakers worldwide, emerges from a confluence of factors as automakers, which closed plants for two months during the coronavirus pandemic last year, rival against the sprawling consumer electronics industry for chip supplies. A factory fire suffered by Japanese chipmaker Renesas this year is also cited as a reason behind the chip shortage.