Editor's note: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong location of a Magna plant that help fill orders after the company's Howell, Mich., experienced a fire. The correct location of the other plant is Brighton, Mich.
DETROIT -- General Motors Co. has canceled shifts at six of its assembly plants and Mazda has idled production of its Mazda6 sedan as Magna International Inc. assesses damage from Wednesday's fire at an interiors parts plant in Michigan that interrupted deliveries to several customer operations.
About a quarter of the product lines at the Magna Atreum plant in Howell, Mich., are out of commission after the blaze damaged 40 percent of the 187,000-square-foot operation, the supplier said. The factory provides door panels, interior trim and instrument panels to GM, Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Co., Mazda and Nissan.
The fire, which started around 5 p.m. Wednesday, took nearly a day to extinguish, forced canceled shifts at GM plants across the country, and slowed Mazda's output at the AutoAlliance factory in Flat Rock, Mich., which builds the Mazda6 and the Ford Mustang.
Magna has begun to call employees personally to return on a departmental basis, the company said.
Magna officials first entered the plant around 4 p.m. Thursday, after firefighters finished extinguishing hot spots, said Magna spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst. The officials are determining what lines were destroyed and which automakers will be affected, she said. No injuries were reported and no estimates of the value of property damage were available.
"We've got restoration teams in there right now trying to clean up so we are still obviously trying to work on our recovery plan," Fuerst said.
The roof collapsed on some parts of the building, and the company has been unable to determine the extent of damage to equipment in those places.
To help make up for lost capacity, Magna has said it plans to boost production at its interiors plants in Brighton, Mich., and Toledo, Ohio.
GM cancels shifts
In response to the fire, GM canceled production shifts Thursday at its plant in Lordstown, Ohio, which produces the Chevrolet Cruze. Production also was halted Friday. Workers in the west plant have been called in for third shifts on Monday, while workers at the east plant are expected back for the second shift on Tuesday.
The Flint, Mich., assembly plant was closed Friday but will reopen on Monday. The plant makes the HD and regular cab versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.
The Delta Township plant in Lansing, Mich., ran shorter shifts Friday, canceled overtime shifts scheduled for Saturday and canceled third shift production on Monday and Tuesday. Overtime for all three shifts has been scheduled for Saturday, March 12, to make up for lost production of the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse.
GM's Fort Wayne, Ind., plant ran its first shift on Friday but canceled second shift general assembly. All workers are expected back on Monday. The plant makes standard and hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.
The Arlington, Texas, plant, which produces standard and hybrid versions of the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, canceled overtime shifts on Saturday but rescheduled them for Saturday, March 12. The Detroit-Hamtramck plant in Michigan, which produces the Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne, canceled an overtime shift scheduled for Friday. The Oshawa, Ontario, plant slowed line speed for production of the Chevrolet Impala on Friday.
GM spokesman Chris Lee said the automaker would determine whether engine and stamping plants would also have to adjust schedules.
Other automakers affected
The fire has also idled production of the Mazda6 at the AutoAlliance International plant in Flat Rock, Mich., said spokesman Jeremy Barnes. Among other components, Magna produces the headliner for the sedan.
"Once we learn more about Magna's plans for alternate sourcing on key components, we'll know more about the length of the shutdown," said Barnes. "Our intention is to make up lost production through extended shifts, overtime or added shifts."
Mazda is well-stocked with a 92-day supply of Mazda6 units. Production of the Ford Mustang, which is also assembled at the AutoAlliance Plant, has been canceled for next week due to a parts shortage unrelated to the Magna plant fire, said spokeswoman Marcey Evans.
"Now that Mustang is experiencing a different and unrelated parts shortage, neither product will be produced and the plant will not run," said Evans. No other slowdowns are anticipated, she said.
The Magna plant also supplies interior parts to Chrysler's Toledo North Assembly Plant in Ohio as well as the Windsor and Brampton plants in Ontario. The plants will continue to run normal shifts for now, Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said.
"As Magna assesses the damage and the impact on their production today, we will work with them to develop a plan to continue providing parts to our plants," she said.
The Toledo plant produces the Dodge Nitro and the Jeep Liberty. The Brampton plant produces the 300 as well as the Dodge Charger and Challenger. The Windsor plant produces the Town & Country, the Voyager, the Dodge Grand Caravan and the Volkswagen Routan, through an agreement with the German automaker.
Nissan, which gets cockpit module skins for the Canton, Miss.-produced Armada SUV from Magna, has yet to report any delays.
"The extent of the damage to the plant and product is unknown at this time. As a result, it is difficult to determine the overall impact, if any, this will have on Nissan production," said Nissan spokesman Steve Parrett. "However, there is inventory in the pipeline and there will be no immediate impact on production at the Canton plant."
