Key Points
- GM halts production at Flint and Arlington plants due to Hurricane Helene’s impact on suppliers.
- The plants produce heavy-duty trucks and full-size SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Tahoe.
- GM is working with suppliers to restore operations, but Flint has no specific timeline.
- COVID-19 prompted GM to enhance supply chain tracking, helping identify potential issues faster.
General Motors (GM) has paused vehicle production at two major U.S. plants, citing supply chain disruptions caused by Hurricane Helene. The production halt affects factories in Flint, Michigan, and Arlington, Texas—critical to GM’s highly profitable lines of large pickups and SUVs. The Flint plant produces GM’s heavy-duty trucks, while Arlington Assembly manufactures popular full-size SUVs, including the Chevrolet Tahoe, Cadillac Escalade, and GMC Yukon.
The automaker canceled shifts on Thursday and Friday at both locations due to impacts on its suppliers following Hurricane Helene’s landfall. The storm severely affected the southeastern U.S. and parts of western North Carolina, claiming at least 215 lives, with hundreds more still missing.
A GM spokesperson declined to predict when operations would resume but indicated that efforts are underway to collaborate with suppliers and restore production. According to an internal message to workers in Arlington, production at that plant is expected to restart on Monday, although no timeline has been set for the Flint facility.
In an emailed statement, GM expressed its commitment to supporting impacted suppliers and communities: “We are working with these suppliers to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible for their employees and communities, as we seek to minimize impacts on our plants.”
While GM has not disclosed which specific suppliers were affected or their locations, the company acknowledged the combined disruptions from the hurricane and a recently ended dockworker strike. The strike concluded on Thursday, with workers returning to ports on Friday.
Jeffrey Morrison, GM’s vice president of global purchasing and supply chain, noted that the disruptions from Hurricane Helene and the strike were significant challenges for the company. He also emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic had prompted GM to improve its ability to track supply chain risks, including issues at lower-tier suppliers. “Covid really helped us map our value chain a lot deeper,” Morrison said at an auto conference.
