A global semiconductor shortage has impacted upwards of 75 employees at a London, Ont., automotive supplier plant.
Autoneum said in a statement to Global News that since the beginning of the year, the company has had to temporarily lay off employees on a weekly basis.
This is “due to production stoppages at North American customers caused by a global semiconductor shortage,” the statement read.
“This affected 50 to 75 employees on average.”
The number of people getting laid off varies each week, according to the company, which supplies a number of different customers including assembly plants for General Motors and Chrysler.
Depending on how many plants are impacted by the shortage at a time, Autoneum says it has to adjust its manpower.
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The semiconductor shortage has also caused a strain on automotive manufactures close to London.
In early February, General Motors said its CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ont., will be idle for a week as a worldwide shortage of computer chips plagues the auto industry.
Local union workers were informed of a temporary layoff at the plant, and GM confirmed about 1,500 affected hourly employees will be eligible for layoff benefits.
A report from AutoForecast Solutions late last month said the increased demand for chips in phones and gaming systems has made it hard for automakers to get semiconductors — leading to production delays in China that spread through plants in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.
As for Autoneum, the automotive supplier says it will “reevaluate the situation and adjust production and workforce accordingly (as) soon as customers resume or ramp-up production again at their facilities.”
According to its website, as of 2019, Autoneum had more than 13,100 employees with 55 production facilities in 25 countries.
–With files from 980 CFPL’s Sawyer Bogdan and The Canadian Press
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