Benzinga | Mar 3, 2021 02:47PM EST

General Motors Extends Production Cut Amidst Chip Crisis: Reuters

* General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) has extended production cuts at three North American plants and added a fourth to the list of factories hit by the global semiconductor chip crisis, Reuters reports.

* However, the cut did not change GM's February forecast of a $2 billion loss in 2021. The automaker expected chip supplies to normalize by the second half of the year with no incremental losses.

* Chip shortage has hit automakers globally. GM did not disclose the impact on volumes or parts affected by the chip shortage but said it intends to recover much of the lost output.

* "GM continues to leverage every available semiconductor to build and ship our most popular and in-demand products, including full-size trucks and SUVs," GM spokesman David Barnas told Reuters.

* Power outage in Texas further hit chip production. Samsung, NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ: NXPI), and Infineon Technologies AG's (OTC: IFNNF) factory shut down in Texas last month following the winter storm.

* Samsung still requires a couple of weeks to resume production at its Austin chip plant following a shutdown due to the winter storm last month.

* President Joe Biden has also pushed for $37 billion In Congressional funding to tackle the chip crisis.

* Price action: GM stock was down 1.71% at $53.18 on the last check Wednesday.

* Image Courtesy: Wikimedia