The seating giant Adient, among the 20 largest automotive suppliers, has been strongly affected by the semiconductor shortage, partly because it is tied to automakers' just-in-time production strategies. But Doug Del Grosso, CEO since 2018, is confident that the shortage is starting to ease, and Adient has taken its own steps to lessen the blow. Del Grosso recently spoke with Automotive News Europe News Editor Peter Sigal about how his company is navigating a challenging time in the industry, and future opportunities to expand seating content.
Adient's results in the first quarter, where you had a small loss, were maybe a little disappointing. What is your business outlook for the rest of the year?
There is no question the first two quarters of the year have been challenging. We are operating under some pretty significant headwinds. First and foremost is COVID, including recent shutdowns in China. Then we have the shortage of semiconductors, and this was further compounded by the war in Ukraine. Then there are indirect impacts associated with these global events, such as rising costs. It's impacting every region. But we are seeing some encouraging signs. I can't be too specific on the outlook for the rest of year [ahead of first-half results], but if you look at our prior earnings call, this is really the first year [since the separation from Johnson Controls in 2016] that we have not provided very specific guidance.