Hyundai in Alabama halts manufacturing as chip shortage continue

Hyundai Motor has halted manufacturing in Alabama this week because of the ongoing global semiconductor shortage.

Semiconductor chips are a major component used in cars, for monitoring tire pressure, radios, and climate control systems, and also other electronics and appliances.

The facility employs approximately 3,000 people in the Montgomery facility in Alabama.

The affected workers will not be paid during the shutdown, but they can get unemployment benefits.

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.