Parts shortage shutters Ford F-150 plant, KC’s largest factory, for at least a month
A global parts shortage has forced Ford Motor Co. to temporarily close Kansas City’s biggest factory for at least a month.
Nearly all of the 7,100 hourly employees at the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo have been temporarily laid off since Monday. Ford this week said the closure would extend through the middle of May.
The Kansas City plant, Ford’s largest factory on the continent, makes the Transit line of fleet vans and the top-selling F-150 pickup. For a time, Ford had kept its pickup line operating while stopping the van line. But now, both are offline.
The Ford plant and the General Motors plant in Kansas City, Kansas, have both experienced major disruptions from the global shortage of semiconductors needed to manufacture new vehicles.
GM’s Fairfax Assembly Plant has been closed since Feb. 8. Company officials said the factory, which makes the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and the Cadillac XT4 crossover SUV, would remain down until at least through the week of May 10.
Computer chips, which power many of the technological features of today’s newer cars, have been in short supply throughout the pandemic, when sales of personal computers skyrocketed as millions of people transitioned to learning and working at home.
“As you build every vehicle you can for our dealers and customers, our teams behind the scenes are working hard to source additional parts,” John Savona, Ford’s North American vice president of manufacturing and labor affairs, wrote to employees on Wednesday. “The situation is constantly changing, and we appreciate your understanding as we work through this together.”
Members of the UAW receive about 75% of their compensation while on temporary layoffs. But the union leader at General Motors’ plant says members have had difficulty receiving state unemployment funds in Kansas.
Likewise, UAW Local 249, which represents workers at Ford’s Claycomo plant, reported that members were having problems accessing Missouri unemployment benefits.
“We understand that this can be a very concerning and frustrating time during a layoff,” the union wrote online Tuesday.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 1:43 PM.
