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.