Tofas to lay off 800 temporary workers as 2012 output is anticipated at well below notional production capacity

IHS forecast that production at the facility will decline further in 2013

Fiat's joint venture (JV) in Turkey Tofas has announced that it plans to lay off 800 temporary workers and reduce the number of shifts at the manufacturer's main plant. According to a Dow Jones report, the company said in a statement that it does not plan to renew the contracts of the 800 temporary workers, which expired on 31 December. The Tofas plant has 6,400 full-time workers and production capacity of 350,000 units per year. However, it has yet to announce its production figures for 2012 although the final figure is likely to be well under the notional capacity of the plant because of falling demand in the European light commercial vehicle (LCV) market, which the plant's production output mainly serves.