Subaru temporarily closing plant due to chip shortage

Subaru will temporarily halt production at a plant in Japan due to an ongoing global semiconductor shortage that has affected several industries.

The automaker indicated in a statement that production at its Yajima Plant in the Gunma Prefecture will stop on April 10 and be halted through a scheduled holiday at the end the month. Operations are expected to resume on May 10.

“The impact on the Company’s consolidated financial performance is yet to be determined. We will make a further announcement if deemed necessary,” the company said.

The shortage of semiconductors, which experts say was exacerbated by the tech boom resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to vex a variety of companies. Automakers have been particularly hit hard. General Motors in March said that production cuts at several North American plants would continue due to the shortage.

President Biden signed an executive order in late February in an effort to boost the supply of semiconductors, but the shortage has yet to show signs of abating.

“We all recognize that the particular problem won’t be solved immediately. In the meantime, we’re reaching out to our allies—semiconductor companies and others in the supply chain — to ramp up production to help us resolve the bottlenecks we face now,”  Biden said at the time.