WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 - President Mary Barra said Friday that the largest U.S. automaker plans to make changes in its supply chain as it works to overcome the continuing chip crisis that has forced significant production cuts.
Barra will make some pretty substantial shifts in our supply chain, said in an online interview. General Motors is already working much deeper into the direct supply base, because generally there is general control that General Motors doesn't buy chips directly but our suppliers do. Now we're dealing with manufacturers more directly So far. A GM spokeswoman declined to comment further on how the company could shift its supply chain.
Next week the U.S. Commerce Department and the White House plan a meeting on the chip crisis, which has caused production cuts by automakers around the world.
On Thursday, GM announced it was cutting production at six North American assembly plants due to the shortage of produce.
Earlier this month, the company was forced to temporarily halt production at most North American assembly plants because of the shortage.
Chrysler company Stellantis NV said this week it was cut production at three plants in the United States and Canada because of the shortage.
Barra said Friday that the issue is a solveable problem, but it's going to be here a little longer. The GM CEO, interviewed by Delta Air Lines chief Ed Bastian as part of a series of discussions with fellow CEOs, said some newer GM vehicles have up to 30% more chips than other vehicles.
As customer needs shift, we need more and more semiconductors, said Barra, saying GM was looking to short -, medium and long-term solutions to the shortage.
Last week, the Chief Financial Officer of GM said the automaker's 2021 profit outlook and said the company expects a more stable year in 2022 for semiconductor deliveries.
Jacobson warned that GM's second-quarter wholesale deliveries could be down by 200,000 vehicles because of chip shortages and because GM shifted production into the third quarter as it managed semiconductor supplies.