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Ford, GM and Toyota plants lose shifts due to winter storm
GM canceled the first and second shifts Tuesday at its factory in Arlington, Texas, after shutting down Monday due to rolling blackouts and workers having difficulty getting to the facility in the snowstorm.
Several automakers, including General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Co., were forced to idle production at U.S. plants in the center of the country as a winter weather pattern caused power outages and other disruptions.
GM canceled the first and second shifts Tuesday at its factory in Arlington, Texas, after shutting down Monday due to rolling blackouts and workers having difficulty getting to the facility in the snowstorm.
The plant makes large, profit-rich sport utility vehicles such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade. GM had vowed to keep production steady at its SUV and truck factories amid a semiconductor shortage that has forced it to cut output at other plants.
The automaker has also canceled two shifts at an SUV plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, home to the Cadillac XT5 and XT6 and the GMC Acadia, and a pickup-truck facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, known for making the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado. The first shift at its Corvette factory in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has also been canceled.
GM will decide whether to run a third shift at Arlington, Fort Wayne and Spring Hill later Tuesday, a spokesman said.
Ford stopped production at its Kansas City, Missouri, factory that makes its bestselling F-150 pickup and and won’t start back up again until Feb. 22. The company said in an email that the weeklong suspension reflects a shortage of natural gas in the area.
Stellantis NV suspended production on the day shift at the Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, which makes the Jeep Gladiator and Wrangler.
Toyota said weather-related issues forced it to suspend the first shift Tuesday at plants in Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas and West Virginia. The Japanese automaker’s factory in San Antonio already was scheduled to skip the first shift due to a chip shortfall unrelated to the weather, but it also has been hurt by a loss of power and water, a spokesman said.
