Chip shortage forces Volvo Car plant in Ghent to shut down for an entire week

The Volvo Car plant in Ghent will shut down production for an entire week next week, reported HLN on Thursday. The cause is the continuing shortage of semiconductors, the chips that power modern cars. The plant has around 7000 employees and normally produces over 5000 cars per week.

The chip shortage is not a new phenomenon. The low supply of semiconductors has plagued the car industry since 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, said spokeswoman Barbara Blomme to HLN. The factory in Ghent was shut down for over 40 days in 2022 due to the shortage.

"Until the last minute, every effort was made by the departments involved to still safeguard production, but the shortages proved too great. A lot of our suppliers are facing capacity problems and/or shortages of semiconductors, which are needed to produce various pieces. This is an indirect consequence of corona, and has an impact on the entire automotive industry as well as other sectors," read a statement to the employees.

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