The global chip shortage causes a week-long production stop at a Volvo factory in Ghent. An Audi factory in Brussels has also been shut down for a few days due to a lack of computer chips. The automotive sector has been suffering from significant chip shortages for some time, but the end is in sight.
From Monday 21 June, the Ghent Volvo Car factory will close the production line for a whole week for the first time, a spokesperson confirmed to DataNews . Due to the production stop, the vast majority of the 6,500 employees are ‘economically unemployed due to force majeure’ for a working week.
Audi Brussels will only close for a few days this week, but will not disclose what that means for employees. A spokesperson explains to the Belgian publication that the factory has reached its lowest point. “We expect improvement in the second half of the year,” he said.
The entire car industry has been dealing with a hefty chip shortage for months. The world’s largest chip manufacturer TSMC warned in April that the chip shortage could last until next year. In the same statement, the Taiwanese company emphasized that car manufacturers in particular should be less affected by the shortages from the third quarter of this year.
