Volkswagen lacks cores to reduce man-hours, Ford Skoda cuts multiple production shifts

According to foreign media reports, chip supply bottlenecks continue to affect the production of global automakers.

Volkswagen said on January 27 that the company has applied for its Wolfsburg plant to perform short-term work on certain days of the month. The company also stated that as a preventive measure, it plans to reduce working hours at its Kassel and Braunschweig parts plants in February. However, Volkswagen said that production at its Emden plant will not be affected. Volkswagen said in an e-mail statement, 'Based on supply conditions, the production of cars and parts may be adjusted in the next few weeks.'

The Skoda brand under the Volkswagen Group has temporarily cut 16 production shifts this week. Skoda said on January 28 that due to the lack of semiconductor components in the entire supply chain of the Volkswagen Group, the company also faces a shortage of this special component. Based on this, the company cannot rule out some adjustments in the automobile production process.

(Image source: Skoda)

At the same time, Ford will cut two production shifts at its Chicago assembly plant next week due to a lack of cores. This move may affect the Ford Explorer (one of the company’s best-selling models) and The production of the Lincoln Aviator crossover. In addition, Ford's Louisville and Saarlouis plants in Germany are temporarily suspended.

At the beginning of last year, due to the epidemic, auto companies predicted that car sales would drop sharply, so orders for chip manufacturers were substantially cancelled, and chip suppliers turned to meet the growing demand of consumer electronics manufacturers. McKinsey consultant Ondrej Burkacky said: 'When automakers and component suppliers realize that their demand exceeds expectations, it is too late, and chip products have been sold elsewhere.'

Due to the shortage of semiconductors, Volkswagen has even considered claiming damages from its suppliers Bosch and Continental. Volkswagen hopes that Bosch and Continental will jointly assume responsibility and partially compensate for the additional costs incurred by the semiconductor shortage.

Daimler denied that automakers should be responsible for the bottleneck of automotive chip supply, which has increased the pressure on auto parts suppliers. Daimler said, 'We have already observed the recovery of Mercedes-Benz sales in mid-2020, and placed orders for all parts on time.'

Daimler stated that it has implemented short-term work at its Bremen and Rastat plants in Germany. In addition, the production at its Keskimet plant in Hungary will start from January 20 to January. Suspended between the 30th.