BELVIDERE (WREX) — A global wide shortage of microchips has extended the shut down of the Belvidere Assembly Plant through most of May.
The plant has been shut down since Mar. 29 due to the shortage and was initially going to reopen in mid-April, but that was then pushed the end of April. Now, a Stellantis spokesperson says the plant will be closed through the later portion May.
Here’s the statement Stellantis provided to 13 WREX:
Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry. Due to the unprecedented global microchip shortage, production at the Belvidere Assembly Plant will be down through late May.
Employees at the plant are being paid during the shut down by a combination of state unemployment benefits and supplement unemployment benefits paid by the company, according to Stellantis.
The plant shut down for one week in February due to the same microchip shortage.
In January, CNN reported carmakers across the world are facing a shortage of semiconductors, which are used in a growing number of applications, including driver assistance systems and navigation control. The average car has between 50 to 150 chips.
At the beginning of March, the plant announced 150 employees were being laid off to “realign production to meet global demand for the Jeep Cherokee.”
We’ll continue to monitor potential shutdowns and layoffs at the plant.