Ford, Stellantis take downtime at North American plants amid chip crunch

Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV on Thursday said a few plants in North America will face some downtime due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage that has hampered auto production worldwide over the last year.

Ford starting Thursday will idle two of its U.S. plants. Chicago Assembly Plant — which employs about 5,800 people and builds the Ford Explorer, Police Interceptor Utility and Lincoln Aviator — and its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne — which employs about 4,900 and builds the Ford Ranger pickup and Bronco SUV — will be down through the week of Feb. 7, according to a company spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the maker of Chrysler Pacifica minivans cited the chip crunch for downtime at Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario. The plant was down for part of the day on Thursday and won't run on Friday. Production is slated to resume on Monday. The plant employs 4,262 people across two shifts, though the company says one will be cut in April.

"Stellantis," spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in a statement, "continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry."

jgrzelewski@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @JGrzelewski