Toyota cutting Thai workers
TOYOTA MOTOR Thailand (TMT) Co, the largest auto company in Thailand, is offering a voluntary early-retirement programme for assembly-plant employees because of production cuts caused by the sluggish economy.
According to an official statement from the company, the Thai auto market has been suffering a considerable decline due to the economic slowdown in Thailand and around the world. That has caused domestic auto sales as well as exports to shrink since the start of last year, it said, forcing Toyota to cut production.
“This has led to an oversupply of factory workers, while overtime hours have also been reduced, resulting in lower income for employees,” it stated.
Those who choose to take the offer will be compensated fully according to Thai law, and receive additional compensation from TMT.
“And if the situation of the auto market improves, they will be given priority in returning to their old jobs, with the same salary and [seniority],” the statement said.
Toyota sold a total of 87,715 vehicles during the first five months of this year, down 13.4 per cent from the corresponding period in 2015, with market share dropping to 29 per cent. The total auto market dropped by just 2 per cent to 302,581 units during this period.
Industry experts point to the lacklustre sales of Toyota’s Hilux Revo pickup and passenger-car models, which have not been finding as many customers as expected.
Toyota lost its lead in both the passenger-car and commercial-vehicle markets to rivals Honda and Isuzu respectively in the first five months of this year.