It seems the domestic big three aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch from high gas prices, the slowing economy and buyers’ reduced spending on full-size trucks. On Tuesday, Toyota announced it will lay off 200 temporary workers and slow production at its Tundra full-size pick-up truck assembly plant in San Antonio, Texas.
The plant will shut down for 14 days before October, although it’s not known whether or not those days will be consecutive or scattered in singles or groups. The 2,000 permanent employees at the plant will get the choice of taking vacation, unpaid days or work on non-manufacturing tasks at the plant during those days, according to Toyota ’s spokesperson, Mike Goss.
“We have a very long-term view of that factory in Texas. We’re trying not to overreact. We’re trying not to shut it down,” Goss said.
The temporary workers will go back to their agencies instead of replacing permanent employees as they left, as was originally planned.
At full pace, the San Antonio plant is capable of producing 200,000 trucks a year, with help from local parts suppliers who employ another 2,000 workers in total.
