ST. PETERSBURG, August 3 (RIA Novosti) - Japanese carmaker Toyota has suspended production at its plant near St. Petersburg until August 16 for planned employee vacations, a company spokeswoman told RIA Novosti on Monday.
According to the spokeswoman, all of the production line employees will be on vacation until mid-August because production is done on conveyors and "it is more convenient when the employees take a collective vacation."
Toyota's Shushary plant has already suspended operations twice this year due to weak car sales amid the global financial crisis. The plant closed for March 30-April 6 and May 1-11. During the closures, the company paid the workers two thirds of their salaries.
The plant, which employs 750 workers and has a capacity of 20,000 cars per year, started manufacturing Camry cars in December 2007.
Since the start of the year several car factories in Russia have temporarily suspended production amid weak sales due to the financial crisis.
General Motors' plant in St. Petersburg closed its operations from July 1 through August 31.
