BUFFALO (AP/WBEN) - The global shortage of computer chips is getting worse, forcing automakers to temporarily close factories including those that build popular pickup trucks.
General Motors announced Thursday that it would pause production at eight of its 15 North American assembly plants during the next two weeks, and that includes felt right here in Western New York, as hundreds of workers at the General Motors plant in Tonawanda are being furloughed this week.
In a conversation with UAW Local 774 President Wence Valentin III Friday, he emphasized that this is expected to be a brief work stoppage that will only last a few days.
"It sounds like it's only going to be a couple days that they're asking our people to stay home," he began. "They should be back to work Thursday, and it's going to affect approximately 350 union employees."
However, Valentin still expressed concern about the chip shortage and is hoping this temporary layoff doesn't become a lingering or permanent issue.
"Right now, it's temporary, but it's something to be concerned about," he said.
Last week, WBEN spoke with UB Distinguished Professor of supply chain management Nallan Suresh, and he's not optimistic that semiconductor chip supply will improve any time soon.
"I'm afraid there's been very little improvement in the chip shortage situation, and it looks like it's going to continue for at least one more year," said Suresh. "There's a very fundamental problem in the supply chain - there's an over-concentration of production in far east Asia, particularly in Taiwan. Overall, probably 80% of the global production takes place in the far east and southeast Asia."
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"They have stockpiled a bunch, and I mean tens of thousands of vehicles that are all finished except for the chip, so that when they get the chips, they can put it in and sell you that F-150 pickup truck," said Art Wheaton, director of WNY Labor and Environmental Programs for the Worker Institute at Cornell. "It's a huge mess, and it's not just a United States mess, and it's not just a unionized environment mess," he continued. "It's a mess globally for these chips."
According to the Buffalo News, a Ford spokesperson said the impact on the Ford Stamping Plant in Hamburg will be determined at a later date.