Ford Motor Co. is scheduling more downtime at several U.S. factories, including its two major truck plants, as a global shortage of semiconductors upends vehicle manufacturing for car makers in North America.
The company said Wednesday that it would halt production for two weeks in April at its truck plant in Dearborn, Mich., and take a week of downtime on the truck side of its Kansas City, Mo., assembly plant, starting Monday. It also plans to suspend work temporarily and cancel planned overtime at several other factories in North America, attributing the work stoppages to tight chip supplies.
Like other car companies, Ford has been struggling to secure enough semiconductor chips as makers of those components have been slammed with surging demand from other industries.
Ford in February said it planned to reduce production of its F-150 pickup truck—the nation’s top-selling vehicle and the company’s biggest moneymaker—because of the shortage. It also said at the time that global production losses from the chip shortfall in the first and second quarters could cut $1 billion to $2.5 billion from its pretax bottom line this year.
On Wednesday, Ford reaffirmed its early guidance and added that it would provide an update on the financial impact of the semiconductor shortage when it reports quarterly results April 28.
