Kijang production cut

Kijang production cut

JAKARTA: Astra will sharply cut Toyota production in Indonesia
due to the worsening economic crisis, company officials said. The
firm's plant in Jakarta will halve monthly production of its
popular Kijang commercial vehicle to 3000-4000, and may reduce
output further if demand continues to fade.

Toyota considered suspending production at the factory
entirely after the holidays, but decided instead to trim
production because of the possible adverse effect on the local
economy of closing Indonesia's largest auto plant.

No layoffs are planned for the plant's 3,000 regular
employees, said Toyota director Shinji Sakai. But the payroll
will be reduced by not taking on season staff.

Toyota is due to start turning out passenger cars this month
at another plant, in Karawang near Jakarta.
But the 640 employees at Karawang will make only about 1,000 cars
a month, well below the plant's 30,000-a-year capacity.