Toyota said it had decided to end vehicle production at its Saint Petersburg plant in Russia.
“On 4 March we had to suspend manufacturing operations at our plant in Saint Petersburg due to the interruption in supply of key materials and parts. Since then, we have been closely monitoring the situation and evaluating the future sustainability of our business in Russia,” the automaker said in a statement.
“During this period we have fully retained our workforce and ensured our facility was ready to re-start production if the circumstances allowed. However, after six months, we have not been able to resume normal activities and see no indication that we can re-start in the future.
The decision to terminate production of Toyota vehicles in Russia is not one that we have taken lightly.”
The company added its operations in Moscow “need to be optimised and restructured with the clear objective of retaining an effective organisation to continue supporting the retail network in providing ongoing service to existing Toyota and Lexus customers in Russia.
It will offer employees “assistance for re-employment, re-skilling and well-being, including financial support above legal requirements”.
The plant opened in 2007 to assemble the Camry sedan.
