Japan's Isuzu Motors to cut 1,400 jobs

Jan	07
2009

Agence France-Presse | 11/20/2008 1:13 PM

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TOKYO - Isuzu Motors said Thursday it would cut 1,400 jobs and slash domestic production by 10 percent, the latest in a slew of layoffs by Japanese automakers to cope with the financial crisis.

"With the way things are, we had no choice but to make adjustments," said a spokeswoman for Japan's second-biggest truckmaker.

The company will reduce its Japanese production for the year to March 2009 to 249,000 vehicles, down 28,000 from the original target, she said.

Isuzu's announcement is the latest in a series of layoffs and production cuts by Japanese automakers and their foreign rivals as the worst financial crisis in decades drives down demand.

Japan's top carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it would stop production at all of its US and Canadian plants for an additional two days next month due to sluggish sales.

Nissan Motor has decided to cut production and axe 3,500 jobs worldwide.

The global financial crisis has badly hit the auto industry, with the US Big Three firms pleading for a government bailout to avoid collapse.

The Nikkei business daily reported in September that General Motors was talking to Isuzu about selling its truck business, which it said would be the first Japanese takeover of a business from the US Big Three.

as of 11/20/2008 1:13 PM