Toyota is to cutting output at its European factories here in the United Kingdom and Turkey in line with slowing European demand.
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Toyota will retain full-time staff but will not renew the contracts of some temporary workers in those countries, an official told Reuters on Friday.
“In response to demand conditions recently in Europe, we are adjusting our production flexibly through such steps as a change to TAKT [process cycle] time,” the official said.
Toyota builds the Auris (aka Corolla hachback) and Avensis in the UK and Corolla sedan and Verso variants in Turkey.
It also has a Yaris plant in northern France.
The automaker on Thursday said European first-half sales fell 9.5% to 301,000 units this year while operating income almost halved.
“In reality, however, its actual sales in the core western European market have suffered greater falls than that, but are being offset by good growth in Russia and other eastern countries, such as Ukraine,” analysts Global Insight said in an investors note on Friday.
ACEA data shows that the Toyota group (including the luxury Lexus brand) sold 13.3% fewer cars in western Europe in the first six months of the year, compared to last year, equivalent to a loss of over 60,000 units.
