GM Extends Production Cuts Until Mid-March on Chip Shortage

(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co. is extending downtime at three North American plants until at least mid-March as a global semiconductor shortage ripples across the auto industry.

GM said Tuesday it will reassess the situation next month to determine possible restart dates for assembly lines in Fairfax, Kansas; Ingersoll, Ontario; and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The company said on Feb. 3 that all three would shut down for a week due to the microchip shortage.

At other plants, GM is building some vehicles without certain modules and then completing them when semiconductors become available. Factories in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, and Wentzville, Missouri, have started doing that, said a company spokesman.

Read More: Chip Shortages Force More Cuts at North American Auto Plants

Shares of the automaker fell 1.7% to $55.92 as of 10:24 a.m. in New York.

GM is diverting supply of semiconductors to its full-size pickup truck and large-SUV plants. Those vehicles -- many of which have been recently redesigned -- are its most popular and highest-margin products.

The shutdowns will hurt GM in the small crossover SUV market. The plant in Kansas makes the Cadillac XT4 crossover, and the factories losing output in Ontario and Mexico build the Chevrolet Equinox small SUV, among other models.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.