Ford F-150 Truck Plant In Kansas City Shuts Down For Week Over Chip Woes

Semiconductor chip shortages continue to plague Ford (F) as the automaker will temporarily halt production at an assembly plant in Kansas City.

The plant, which builds its F-150 pickup trucks, will be closed for one week starting Aug. 23, with a shift also cut on Saturday, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Ford has been hit by a semiconductor-related part shortage in Malaysia due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Automakers across the industry have been hit by chip shortages, causing production delays and temporary plant shutdowns as the component used in vehicles has been diverted to tech products amid the high consumer demand for computers, tablets, and phones amid the pandemic.

Ford said it anticipated lowering its earnings by as much as $2.5 billion in 2021 from the chip supply issues.

In April, the semiconductor shortage forced Ford to sideline over 7,100 hourly employees at its Kansas City Assembly Plant for about two weeks.

General Motors temporarily idled most of its truck plants in North America in mid-July. GM has also said that the plant shutdowns due to the chip shortages are expected to reduce its operating costs by about $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

Mercedes-Benz said in July that worldwide chip shortages would affect deliveries to customers globally, while Jaguar Land Rover said that sales were lower than demand would have allowed due to the chip disruption, warning that there would be even greater losses in the next quarter.

As of Thursday at 12:43 p.m. ET, shares of Ford were trading at $12.76, down 24 cents, or 1.88%.