Toyota announced 10% cuts in production and pay at its two British factories for a year in a bid to safeguard thousands of jobs. The cuts begin in April at the sites in Burnaston, central England, and Deeside in North Wales.
The company, which employs 3,900 at its main production site in Burnaston and 570 at its engine plant in Deeside, last week cut 200 temporary jobs and opened a voluntary redundancy scheme.
"Following extensive consultation with our employee representatives and with input from all employees, it has been agreed that the best way to secure long-term employment is to temporarily reduce working hours and base pay by 10%," Toyota said.
"This work share arrangement will take effect from 1st April and will be in place for one year; during this time we will continue to monitor the market and company situation closely.
"We believe the measures we have announced give us a greater opportunity to maintain employment through this difficult period," it added.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
