Toyota Motor has announced a suspension of production in all domestic factories for 11 days in February and March, in response to a significant drop in sales. “We will suspend operations at 12 Toyota factories in Japan for 11 days,” said a company spokesperson.
This is in addition to a three-day suspension of activities that Toyota is already undertaking in January in its domestic factories to better cope with the noticeable weakening of demand. Last month, Toyota forecasted its first annual operating loss in its history, blaming it on an “unprecedented crisis” in the global automotive industry. However, the company’s president Katsuaki Watanabe expects a recovery in demand in the second half of the year. “However, I believe that the growth will be gradual,” he told reporters.
Toyota, which is competing with struggling American company General Motors for the title of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer, has already begun to reduce production in its domestic, American, Canadian, and French factories. It also plans to lay off 3,000 temporary workers in Japan, where it produces vehicles for both domestic and foreign markets. The company recently reported a 37% drop in sales in the U.S. market in December, finishing a tough year during which the Japanese giant’s sales in that largest global vehicle market fell by 16% to 2.2 million vehicles.
