Daimler will pause production at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama due to a parts shortage.
The factory in Tuscaloosa County was one of the first U.S. car factories to reopen after being forced to shut to limit the spread of the coronavirus but according to Bloomberg, will be shuttered this week.
An internal notice viewed by Bloomberg revealed that the site will be closed due to a shortage of parts supplied from Mexico. Employees are being given the option to use vacation time or go without pay and file for state and federal unemployment benefits as a result of the closure.
“Due to respective country-specific regulations and their impact on international supplier sites, we expect a temporary interruption,” Mercedes-Benz confirmed in a statement.
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Daimler says that the factory will make-up for the pause in production on June 29 through July 1 when the factory had been slated for a summer shutdown. The Tuscaloosa plant builds the C-Class, GLS, and GLE.
The Alabama factory only re-opened last month after idling for five weeks.
While some car factories in the United States have been given the all-clear to re-open, including Tesla’s site in Fremont, California, it remains unconfirmed when auto companies in Mexico will be able to reopen. With that being said, the country said on May 15 it would allow the auto industry to restart operations from this week as long as companies have the correct safety protocols in place. Details of these requirements should be released soon.
