Toyota Motor Trims Costs

Asia’s largest automaker Toyota Motor Corp. which hasn’t shed workers in 24 years of building cars in the U.S., is exhausting options to trim costs after halting work on a Prius plant in Mississippi, idling a Texas truck factory for 15 weeks and planning to pare U.S. and Canadian output next month. Adding to the pressure on North American operations amid a 13 percent slump in U.S. sales will be Toyota’s first operating loss in 71 years. Toyota yesterday projected a deficit of 150 billion yen ($1.7 billion) in the year ending March, erasing a forecast for a 600 billion yen profit.

From the straightline-blog:

What was once thought “unthinkable,” that being Toyota cutting factory workers, many come to pass. In the 24 years that Toyota has been building cars here, they have never had to let anyone go. That may change as their sales continue to slump.