GM, Ford halt some production as chip shortage worsens

By TOM KRISHER
Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) — The global shortage of computer chips is getting worse, forcing automakers to temporarily close factories including those that build popular pickup trucks. General Motors announced Thursday that it would pause production at eight of its 15 North American assembly plants during the next two weeks, including two that make the company’s top-selling Chevrolet Silverado pickup. Ford will stop making pickups at its Kansas City Assembly Plant for the next two weeks. Shifts will be cut at two more truck plants in Dearborn, Michigan, and Louisville, Kentucky. Industry analysts say the delta variant of the novel coronavirus has hit employees at chip factories in southeast Asia hard, forcing some plants to close.