Production line workers work on the chassis of a full-size General Motors pickup truck at the Flint Assembly Plant in Flint, Michigan, on June 12, 2019.
Jeff Kowalski/AFP/Getty Images
Detroit- General Motors Two U.S. plants that make lucrative large pickup trucks and SUVs have temporarily halted vehicle production due to Hurricane Helene's impact on suppliers.
The automaker canceled Thursday and Friday shifts at a plant in Flint, Miss., that makes heavy-duty trucks, and at an assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, which makes the Chevrolet Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade and GMC Yukon and other full-size SUVs.
A GM spokesman declined to say when the plant was expected to resume production Friday morning. A message sent to Arlington workers on Thursday and seen by CNBC said the plant was expected to resume production on Monday.
“We are working with these suppliers to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible for their employees and communities to minimize the impact on our plants,” GM said in an emailed statement.
Hurricane Helen It made landfall in Florida late last week, hitting parts of the southeastern United States and western North Carolina particularly hard. At least 215 people died and hundreds more are missing.
GM declined to say which suppliers were affected or where they are located.
Jeffrey Morrison, GM's vice president of global purchasing and supply chain, said Thursday that the hurricane and port workers' strike were disruptive events for the automaker. The strike ended late Thursday and dockworkers returned to work on Friday.
Morrison said that since GM dealt with disruptions during the pandemic, the automaker has taken a deeper look at its supply chain to better track parts and potential issues.
“COVID has really helped us map our value chain more deeply,” he told CNBC at an automotive conference hosted by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. rainbow promotion alliance In Detroit. “Pre-COVID, it was more difficult to know what the sub-tiers were. We now have a huge inventory of what those sub-tiers are. Not only do we have control over the materials we buy directly, but we can also talk to all of our suppliers.”
Morrison also said the automaker would do its best to help these suppliers cope with production disruptions.