General Motors recently announced that it was forced to halt production at its Shreveport, Louisiana assembly facility. Now GM is hitting the brakes on production at its Tonawanda plant in Buffalo, New York as well. The reason for the stoppage? The massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan has caused significant delays from parts suppliers.
The two plants affected thus far are responsible for building the engines found under the hoods of GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado pickup trucks. There is no word yet on when either plant will re-open, but USA Today reports that the stop in production has resulted in 59 layoffs at the NY facility.
An analyst for IHS Automotive suggests that GM should have enough of the delayed parts in stock to keep building engines. However, the automaker is choosing to move the parts around to vehicles that are both more popular and more profitable. This means that the Canyon and Colorado sit quietly while the Silverado eats at the big table.
autoblog
