Both Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant and Jeep’s Belvidere plant are mired in multiweek shutdowns due to the ongoing global semiconductor shortage.
Ford announced Wednesday it is extending a shutdown that began last week through the end of April at several facilities, including the Chicago Assembly Plant. The three-week shutdown is idling about 5,200 employees working three shifts at the plant on the city’s Southeast Side, which makes the Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator and Police Interceptor SUVs.
With ongoing production interruptions this spring, Chicago is one of a number of Ford plants that plans to operate during the traditional summer shutdown weeks in late June and early July, said Kelli Felker, Ford spokeswoman.
During the shutdown, hourly workers with at least one year on the job are eligible to receive roughly 75% of their gross pay through a combination of government unemployment benefits and supplementary benefits from Ford, Felker said.
Production at the Chicago Ford plant was scaled back to one shift during the first week of February because of the chip shortage, which has roiled the auto industry this year, with sporadic closures across a number of automakers.
Jeep’s Belvidere assembly plant was one of five Stellantis facilities in North America shut down due to the chip shortage on March 29. The company said at the time the plants would cease production through mid-April.
On Friday afternoon, Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said the Jeep plant will remain closed for the rest of the month. The plant normally has about 3,600 employees working two shifts making the Jeep Cherokee SUV.
The workers will continue to get a combination of state unemployment and supplemental benefits during the plant shutdown, as long as they are eligible, Tinson said.
