General Motors halts production at more factories as global semiconductor shortage worsens
The shutdowns will affect about 10,000 workers, GM spokesman David Barnas said. Hourly workers represented by a union “will receive about 75 percent of their compensation through a combination of unemployment and supplemental benefits,” he said by email.
GM is also restarting production at a Missouri factory idled in March.
“We continue to work closely with our supply base to find solutions for our suppliers’ semiconductor requirements and to mitigate impact on GM,” the company said. “Our intent is to make up as much production lost at these plants as possible.”
Semiconductors, also known as computer chips, are the brains behind a wide array of electronic devices, including cars. The chips have been in short supply for months as an unprecedented surge of demand far outstripped supply across the globe, leaving manufacturers of all kinds in the lurch.
The White House has been leaning on big chip producers and their host nations, including Taiwan, to increase output. It is also calling for $50 billion of federal funding to incentivize more domestic chip production, though those funds, if approved by Congress, would be too far off to alleviate the current shortages.
