Toyota Decreases UK Plant Production

Toyota is set to cut production for five months at its Burnaston plant in Derbyshire, according to a report in The Times. Other major carmakers are said to be “monitoring the market.” Burnaston was the second-largest car producer in the UK last year (after the Nissan plant in Sunderland), producing 277,000 cars. The cuts will result in a reduction of output of 15,000 cars by the end of the year. The 3,800 permanent staff will reportedly stay and engage in training and plant maintenance. However, some of the 220 temporary workers will leave.

Katsuaki Watanabe, the president of Toyota, commented: “The business environment is rapidly becoming more difficult. Things remain very uncertain, not just in the US but in emerging countries and resource-rich nations as well. We cannot be optimistic now.”