Jaguar Land Rover closing 2 plants in Britain due to chip shortage

April 22 (UPI) -- Jaguar Land Rover said Thursday it will shut down production for a week at its two main plants in Britain due to a global supply shortage of semiconductor chips.

The move will idle plants in Castle Bromwich and Halewood, which employ almost 6,000 auto workers.

Britain's largest automaker and owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata, Jaguar Land Rover said in its announcement that it's monitoring the chip supply, but expects to reopen the plants in a week.

The shortage of semiconductor chips, which has been caused mostly by the coronavirus pandemic, has affected many companies across industries, including U.S. automakers General Motors and Ford.

"Like other automotive manufacturers, we are currently experiencing some COVID-19 supply chain disruption, including the global availability of semiconductors, which is having an impact on our production schedules and our ability to meet global demand for some of our vehicles," a Jaguar Land Rover spokeswoman said, according to Yahoo Finance.

"We are working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimize the impact on customer orders wherever possible."

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world's largest chipmaker, said last week the shortage could run into next year.