- It added that Volkswagen told told AFP in a statement that it is sending roughly 8,800 employees at its plant in Emden, northern Germany, into short-time work until 19th January
- When car sales fell at the start of the Covid-19 crisis, many chip manufacturers switched production to consumer electronics
As per a report by AFP, Volkswagen and its subsidiary Audi said that they would temporarily cut production and furlough workers as the auto industry suffers from a shortage of vital computer chips. It added that Volkswagen told told AFP in a statement that it is sending roughly 8,800 employees at its plant in Emden, northern Germany, into short-time work until 19th January. The plant produces VW’s own-brand Passat model.
The company told DPA news agency that Audi is placing 10,000 employees on reduced hours until the end of January in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm. Semiconductor shortages have hampered auto production across the industry in recent weeks.
Many chip manufacturers switched production to consumer electronics
It added that when car sales fell at the start of the Covid-19 crisis, many chip manufacturers switched production to consumer electronics. This had a higher demand as people were home due to the pandemic. Ford and Toyota said earlier this week they were slowing down or even stopping production at US factories due to the shortfall.
VW said in the statement that the limited supply of semiconductors due to rapidly recovering car markets is causing considerable disruptions in worldwide vehicle production across all manufacturers. Countermeasures and alternatives are continuously being examined in order to limit the effects of the supply bottleneck and thus the number of vehicles affected, it added.
