Majority of GM plants to be down next week because of chip shortage

Detroit — General Motors Co. is again halting truck production despite its efforts to keep it going amid the global chip shortage, and most of its North American plants will be off line next week. 

Of the Detroit automaker's facilities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, only its plants in Flint; Arlington, Texas; Bowling Green, Kentucky, and part of its Lansing Grand River facility will be producing vehicles the week of Sept. 6.

GM will take down both the Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Silao, Mexico, light-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra truck plants next week. GM said it anticipates production will resume the week of Sept. 13. It will take the off time to work on unfinished vehicles from the shortage and ship those out to dealers. 

"I know adjusting your lives on the fly isn't easy," Fort Wayne Plant Executive Director Gary Duff wrote in a Thursday note to employees obtained by The Detroit News. "Your continued efforts and flexibility are appreciated as we are doing everything possible to manage this challenging situation."

Automakers have been battling the chip shortage all year. The effects are expected to continue into next year. 

More: Chip shortage prompts new F-150, SUV production cuts by Ford

“These most recent scheduling adjustments are being driven by the continued parts shortages caused by semiconductor supply constraints from international markets experiencing COVID 19-related restrictions," GM spokesman Dan Flores said in a statement. 

In addition to the light-duty truck plants, midsize-pickup plant Wentzville Assembly in Missouri will take two weeks down from Sept. 6 through the week of Sept. 13. Wentzville builds the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickups and the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans.

GM's CAMI Assembly in Canada and San Luis Potosi Assembly in Mexico will be down two additional weeks through the week of Sept. 27. CAMI builds the Chevrolet Equinox and San Luis Potosi builds the Equinox and GMC Terrain.

Lansing Delta Township Assembly, where the Chevrolet Traverse and the Buick Enclave are built, will also take two additional weeks of downtime for those products through the week of Sept. 13. Production is expected to resume Sept. 20.

At Spring Hill Assembly in Tennessee, production of the GMC Acadia, Cadillac XT5 and Cadillac XT6 will also be down another two weeks through Sept. 13, with an expected return date of Sept. 20. 

Lastly, GM's Ramos Assembly in Mexico will have also have two additional weeks of downtime for Chevrolet Blazer production through the week of Sept. 13. Equinox production at the plant will be down through the week of Sept. 27.  

Of GM's assembly plants that will be running next week, Arlington makes the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, the 

Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe, and the Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV; Bowling Green produces the Chevrolet Corvette, and Flint makes heavy-duty Chevrolet and GMC crew and regular cab trucks.

At Lansing Grand River, production of the Chevrolet Camaro and limited production of the Cadillac CT4 and CT5 Blackwings will continue, while production of the regular CT4 and CT5 will be halted. A date for return to full production hasn’t been announced.

On Wednesday, Ford Motor Co. said its Dearborn Truck Plant F-150 pickup plant would operate with just one shift next week because of the shortage. Production of the F-150 at Ford's Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri will remain down next week as well. Production of the Transit van will continue there.

Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, home of Super Duty pickups, the Ford Expedition SUV and the Lincoln Navigator SUV, will operate on two shifts the weeks of Sept. 6 and 13, down from three.

Stellantis NV, maker of Ram trucks and Jeeps, halted production this week of its Ram 1500 pickup at its Sterling Heights plant, the automaker announced last Friday. The Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois, home of the Jeep Cherokee crossover, is also down this week through the week of Sept. 6. Ontario's Windsor Assembly Plant, which makes Chrysler minivans, will also be down through next week. 

khall@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @bykaleahall

Staff Writers Jordyn Grzelewkisi and Breana Noble contributed.