Automotive

GM temporarily halting output at two plants on Helene supply-chain snarls

Written by Ethan Bernard

October 4, 2024

General Motors is temporarily stopping production at a plant in Michigan and one in Texas due to supply-chain fallout from Hurricane Helene.

“Production at Flint Assembly (in Mich.) is cancelled for all shifts on Oct. 4, and Arlington Assembly (in Texas) is canceled for all shifts on Oct. 4 and 7 because of impacts to suppliers as a result of Hurricane Helene,” a spokeswoman for GM said in a statement to SMU.

“We are working with these suppliers to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible for their employees and communities, as we seek to minimize impacts on our plants,” she added.

Flint Assembly has 4,617 employees and manufactures heavy-duty crew and regular cab trucks. These include the Chevrolet Silverado HD and the GMC Sierra HD Denali and Sierra HD.

Arlington Assembly has 5,410 employees and builds full-size SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, as well as the Cadillac Escalade and Escalade-V.

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on Sept. 26 and sowed damage across the Southeast, with western North Carolina particularly hard hit. The death toll has topped 200, according to a story in USA Today.

UPDATE: On Monday, Oct. 7, GM sent the following statement to SMU: “After a brief pause in production at GM’s Flint and Arlington assembly plants due to supplier-related issues in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, production will resume at both plants.”

The automaker said Flint has already resumed operation, while Arlington will resume Monday evening on third shift.

“Our teams are confident we can make up any lost production over the coming days and weeks,” GM added.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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