Chinese parts stop production at GM's Shreveport plant Posted 2010/04/16 @ 10:30 AM By Myles Kornblatt
The General Motors plant in Shreveport, Louisiana has been idled after Chinese microchips used in the car have been “contaminated”. The Shreveport facility makes the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon small trucks, and it was once home to the Hummer H3.
The affected microchips are part of the truck’s the brake system. The breakdown happened through GM’s supply chain where the Louisiana-built Colorado and Canyon get their brake control modules from a supplier in North Carolina who source the microchips from China.
The problem has shut down the assembly line for at least a week. As workers are being sent home, those who are associated with the situation are calling this a “lay off”. One plant worker even has a cavalier attitude to the situation by saying, “We get laid off so often it’s no big deal.”
The whole situation should be resolved by April 26th.
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While any unexpected stoppage cannot be welcomed news, this is likely to be particularly tough for GM’s Shreveport plant. The Louisiana facility already had to permanently lay off workers due to slow/halted production of the Hummer brand.
Also the future of GM Shreveport is in question. The plant is scheduled to lose small truck production when Colorado and Canyon end their life cycle in 2012. The factory was promised to keep production going with the a Chinese-owned Hummer, but now that the deal has fallen through, Shreveport will soon be left without any product.
