Stellantis will extend its production stoppage at the Fiat 500 factory in Turin, Italy, to the whole of next week, the automaker and the FIOM metalworkers' union said on Thursday, according to Reuters. The November 9-13 shutdown would be the fourth consecutive week without production at the Mirafiori plant.
A Stellantis spokesperson said the first two weeks, which began in mid-October, were caused by weak demand. The spokesperson said the shutdown for the current and next week is linked to a shortage of electronic chips used in engine control units.
Union officials pointed to weak demand for the Fiat 500 city car as the continuing reason for the stoppage. Gianni Mannori of FIOM said blaming the component shortage was "an alibi."
Last week, Stellantis said the engine control unit shortage was causing "significant" disruption to Italian production of the Fiat 500 and Fiat Pandina models.