On March 26, Stellantis announced that it would temporarily close five North American assembly plants starting April 5. The affected plants are in Illinois, Michigan, Mexico and Canada. At press time, the plants were expected to be closed through mid-April.
That same week, General Motors said it was idling its assembly plant in Wentzville, MO, for two weeks and extending into April a shutdown at its Lansing Grand River plant in Michigan. And, Ford Motor Co. said it was cutting production significantly at six North American plants, including facilities that assemble the company’s highly profitable pickups. The cuts range from cancelling overtime shifts to outright closures that could last one to three weeks.