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GM extends vehicle production cuts into mid-March due to global chip shortage

DETROIT — General Motors said on Tuesday it was extending production cuts at three North American plants until at least mid-March due to the global semiconductor chip shortage, while vehicles at two other factories would only be partially built. GM, whose shares dipped 1% after the announcement, did not disclose the impact volumes or say which supplier and vehicle parts were affected by the chip shortage. But it said it would focus on keeping production running at plants building its highest-profit vehicles, full-size pickup trucks and SUVs. GM said it intended to make up as much lost production as possible once the shortage chip eased. "Semiconductor supply remains an issue that is facing the entire industry. GM's plan is to leverage every available semiconductor to build and ship our most popular and in-demand products," GM spokesman David Barnas said. GM said it was extending downtime at its U.S. plant in Fairfax, Kansas, its Canadian factory in Ingersoll, Ontario, and its Mexican facility in San Luis Petosi until mid-March when it would reassess the situation, he said. In addition, GM would build but leave incomplete for final assembly vehicles at Wentzville, Missouri, and its Mexican plant at Ramos Arizpe. GM vehicles affected by the idled plants include the Chevrolet Malibu sedan, Cadillac XT4 SUV, Chevy Equinox, and GMC Terrain SUVs. Vehicles to be left incomplete for now included the Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon pickups and Chevy Blazer SUV. This week, GM had said it was idling the three factories where it has now extended downtime and said it would halve production at a plant in South Korea. The chip shortage has affected many automakers, including Toyota, Volkswagen, Stellantis, Ford, Renault, Subaru, Nissan, Honda and Mazda. Asian chipmakers are rushing to boost production but say the supply gap will take many months to plug. German chipmaker Infineon said the shortage would get worse in the near term. The chip shortage is expected to cut global output in the first quarter by more than 670,000 vehicles and last into the third quarter, IHS Markit said. AutoForecast Solutions estimated total lost production this year could reach 1 million vehicles. Honda and Nissan said on Tuesday they would sell 250,000 fewer cars in total this financial year due.

GM struggles to sell small cars, plans to lay off 2,084 employees at two plants

Due to low demand for some of its vehicles, General Motors plans to cut 2,084 jobs at its assembly plants in Lordstown, OH and Lansing, MI. At the same time, the automaker also announced plans to invest approximately $900 million in three of its facilities – the Toledo Transmission Operations in Ohio, Bedford Casting Operations in Indiana, and Lansing Grand River in Michigan - for future products. GM will discontinue the third shift at both the Lansing Grand River plant and the Lordstown, OH plant. The Cadillac ATS, Cadillac CTS, and Chevrolet Camaro are made at the automaker's plant in Michigan, which currently has 2,700 employees. The move to eliminate the third shift affects 810 hourly workers, as well as 29 salaried employees, starting on January 16th. The plant in Lordstown, OH currently has 4,500 employees and makes the Chevrolet Cruze sedan. The plan to discontinue the third shift will affect 43 salaried workers and 1,202 hourly employees and will start on January 23rd. As Fortune points out, sales of the Cruze are down 20 percent through October, while sales of the Cadillac ATS and CTS were down 17 percent through the same period of time. In addition to cutting the third shift at both assembly plants, the automaker plans to invest a total of $900 million between three of its facilities for unnamed future products. GM's Toledo Transmission Operations will receive $667.6 million, the Lansing Grand River Assembly plant will receive $211 million, and the automaker's Bedford Casting Operations will get $37 million. Last year, GM cut roughly 500 jobs from its Orion Township factory due to slow sales of the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano, with surging crossover and SUV sales as the most likely culprit. With GM posting much healthier sales figures for the Chevrolet Equinox and Cadillac XT5 compared to the ATS, CTS, and Cruze, it looks like compact SUVs are to blame for this year's layoffs as well. Related Video: News Source: Fortune, General MotorsImage Credit: REUTERS / Rebecca Cook Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Plants/Manufacturing Cadillac Chevrolet GM Coupe Sedan Lordstown Ohio

Cadillac Lyriq teased ahead of debut next week

The Cadillac Lyriq is just around the corner, set to be fully revealed on August 6. Cadillac just released a few teaser photos and videos as preparation for the big debut a week from today. It’s our best look at the production version of the car yet. Of course, you may remember photos of the EV concept released over a year ago, but the production crossover is shaping up to be a little different. This carÂ’s most intriguing element so far is the charge outlet panel integrated into the front fender. The large piece appears to lift up and slide out of the way when itÂ’s time to plug in. This reveals a decorative LED light strip that outlines the outlet, ultimately leading into the Cadillac logo above. Below the panel is a small, silver GM badge that if our guess is correct, says “Ultium” for the Ultium battery technology going into the Lyriq.  The wheels feature a unique silver and black two-tone design. Those black inserts are ridged, and the wheel is likely designed for better aero performance and increased range. ItÂ’s tough to say much about the design itself, but the silhouette is giving us crossover coupe vibes with its heavily raked rear window and sloping roofline. It appears to have a couple spoilers, one on the roof and then another as a ducktail below the rear window. CadillacÂ’s video teasers provide for the briefest of front end glimpses. Still, we can see the fancy lighting signature that Cadillac has created. ThereÂ’s both a light-up Cadillac badge and small LED lighting strips integrated throughout the grille. ItÂ’s concept car-like in appearance, so we do wonder whether this will find its way into a production Lyriq. The vertical DRL weÂ’re used to seeing on other Cadillacs has also made an appearance on the outer edges of the front bumper. ItÂ’s been previously stated that the Lyriq would enter production in 2022, so even when GM does reveal the electric Cadillac next week, itÂ’ll be a long while till we see the vehicle on the road. Related Video: