GM halts Corvette output after tornado causes fire at Kentucky plant

General Motors' Chevrolet Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Ky., will be down this week for repairs after a tornado started a fire at the plant early Saturday, the automaker said.

Several tornadoes tore through six states Friday and Saturday, killing more than 90 people and causing catastrophic damage, The New York Times reports.

The fire "has caused damage to the facility, including the roof and an employee entrance. The small number of employees that were on-site are all safe," GM said in a statement Sunday. "Maintaining a safe work environment for plant employees is our top priority."

GM said first and second shifts at the factory would be canceled the week of Dec. 13 "as our trained teams work to get tooling, equipment and the facility space up to standard."

The plant employs about 1,200 hourly workers, represented by UAW Local 2164, along with about 180 salaried workers.

U.S. sales of the Corvette sports car nearly doubled in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period in 2020. GM sold 24,748 Corvettes through September, compared with 12,634 a year earlier, when production was paused for eight weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic.

GM idled production at the plant in March and again in October and November 2020 because of a parts shortage separate from the microchip crisis that has hampered auto output globally.

Toyota, in a statement, said the storm’s impact on operations appears to be minimal and there are no known team members impacted. The automaker said it also is not aware of any suppliers impacted, according to a preliminary assessment.

Toyota said there were no known injuries to dealer personnel, but several were without power and at least one dealership experienced facility damage.

Jeremy Carroll and Larry P. Vellequette contributed to this report.