Since the beginning of March, the factory in the Montbéliard region in the Doubs has been living at a disrupted production rate due to parts supply problems.
Semiconductors are once again in the news. Since March 4, 13 work sessions have been canceled at the Sochaux plant, a deficit of around 5,200 unproduced vehicles. The Stellantis factory in Sochaux produces the Peugeot 3008 and 5008. In 2021, a hundred sessions had been canceled, between February and September due to the lack of semiconductors. The night shift had been suspended for three months, from September to December.
The factory is progressing “day by day”, confirmed a spokesperson, and the toll-free number which is used to communicate with employees during periods of crisis has been activated. They can call this number every day to find out if their team will be working, or if their session is cancelled.
“We must bring back the production of semiconductors in France,” said Éric Peultier, Force Ouvrière union representative. “Thousands of employees are affected, at Stellantis and subcontractors,” he laments. The entire automotive industry has been affected since the health crisis by shortages of parts, chips and other electronic components, made in Asia. These semiconductors are present in our smartphones, but also in the artificial intelligence systems of cars.
The Russian-Ukrainian crisis also increases “concern”, also notes Benoit Vernier, CFDT central union representative.
He fears that the crisis “is not limited to semiconductors”: “If it continues, we fear that the night shift will be suspended again,” he adds.
This crisis comes asa new car assembly system is being put into operation at Sochaux. Its production was maintained there as best it could to allow its running-in. New employees will be trained there on Tuesday, while the old system will be at a standstill or idling. The total shift of the factory to its new production tool is planned by the end of June.