Daimler and Volkswagen shorten working hours due to chip shortage, Nissan will reduce production in the US

Daimler and Volkswagen announced that due to the shortage of chip supply, the two companies will shorten the working hours of some factories. Since the beginning of 2021, many automakers have been troubled by chip shortages, which has seriously affected automobile production.

A Daimler spokesman said working hours would be reduced at its Bremen and Rastatt plants. The spokesman said the current supply situation was so unstable that it was impossible to predict the severity of the impact.

A Volkswagen spokesman said that starting next week, its Wolfsburg plant will reduce working hours. Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess said last month that the chip shortage has put Volkswagen into "crisis mode." He also said that the impact of the chip shortage will continue to intensify and will have an impact on Volkswagen's second-quarter profits, which will end in two weeks.

Diess said: "We will do our best to make up for the lost car production in the first half of the year in the second half of the year. But the events in the United States and Japan will definitely hurt us." He was referring to the extreme weather in Texas, USA, and the fire at Renesas's factory in Japan, both of which exacerbated the chip supply shortage.

In addition, two sources revealed that Nissan will also suspend production of three models at its Smyrna, Tennessee, USA plant, namely the Murano crossover, the Leaf electric hatchback and the Maxima large sedan, for four weeks.

Nissan declined to comment, but the company said its U.S. factories will enter a two-week summer shutdown starting in late June, followed by a two-week halt in production of the Altima midsize sedan at its Canton, Mississippi, plant.