Feb 02, 2011
General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC closed 22 assembly plants today because of a snowstorm in the U.S. Midwest.
GM halted production at nine factories in Missouri, Michigan, Kansas, Texas and Indiana, according to Kimberly Carpenter, a company spokeswoman. Chrysler closed 10 factories, according to the company’s website. Ford closed plants in Flat Rock, Michigan; Avon Lake, Ohio; and Chicago, said Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman.
Additional closings are possible as the storm delays the delivery of necessary parts, Evans said.
“We’re really trying to run as many as we can, but it will depend on having the people and parts to do so,” Evans said in an e-mail. “Right now it looks like parts may become more of an issue than people for some facilities.”
The closings affect production of a range of models, including GM’s Cadillac SRX sport-utility vehicle, Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Chevy Volt plug-in electric car, and Ford’s redesigned Explorer SUV and Taurus sedan.
“We’re making a shift-by-shift and plant-by-plant determination,” GM’s Carpenter said. “We will try to reopen plants as soon as it’s safe for our workers.”
Six of the nine GM plants canceled early shifts in the day and may reopen later, pending weather conditions, Carpenter said.
Subaru of Indiana Automotive canceled the first shift at its plant in Lafayette, Indiana, this morning, Jennifer McGarvey, a spokeswoman, said in an interview. The company hasn’t made a decision on the second shift at the factory, which builds the Outback, Legacy and Tribeca vehicles, she said.
By Keith Naughton and Craig Trudell
