LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - General Motors said on Tuesday it was extending production cuts at three North American plants until at least mid-March due to the shortage in semiconductor chips that is affecting companies worldwide.
GM shares fell 1% following the announcement.

It was unclear how the cuts would impact production volumes or which suppliers would be impacted.

The company said that its focus was on continuing production at those plants building its highest-profit vehicles.

"Semiconductor supply remains an issue that is facing the entire industry. GM's plan is to leverage every available semiconductor to build and ship our most popular and in-demand products," GM spokesman, David Barnas, said, Reuters reported .

The plants that would be hit were located in Fairfax (Kansas), Wentzville (Missouri), and the Canadian factory at Ingersoll (Ontario), as well its facilities in Mexico in San Luis Petosi and in Ramos Arizpe.

GM said that it would reassess the situation in mid-March.

The shortage of chips was an issue for many of its rivals such as Toyota, Volkswagen, Stellantis, Ford Motor Co, Renault, Subaru, Nissan, Honda and Mazda.

All told, IHS Markit estimated that the lack of adequate chip supplies was expected to cut global car production by 670,000 units in the first quarter of the year.

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