Chip Shortage Idles Chicago Ford Plant
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The global semiconductor shortage is forcing Ford’s (NYSE: F) Chicago Assembly Plant to be idled this week. Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report thousands of auto workers, including many from northwest Indiana, will be temporarily out of work, beginning today.
The plant was previously shut down for most of July for the same reason and has seen numerous other temporary shutdowns, according to the publication.
The microchips are used for a variety of features, including rearview cameras, lane assist, and parallel parking assist.
“The global semiconductor shortage continues to affect global automakers and other industries in all parts of the world,” Kelli Felker, manufacturing & labor communications manager for Ford, tells The Times. “While we continue to manufacture new vehicles, we’re prioritizing completing our customers’ vehicles that were assembled without certain parts due to the industry-wide semiconductor shortage. This is in line with our commitment to get our customers their vehicles as soon as possible and consistent with our forecasted supply.”
The nearly 100-year-old Chicago Assembly Plant produces the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs, as well as the Police Interceptor Utility. The plant employs nearly 6,000 workers.