27/11/2008 23:37. PARIS -(Dow Jones)- Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) said Thursday it plans to scale back production of its Yaris city car at an assembly plant in France in the coming weeks in order to adapt production to waning market demand.

A spokeswoman for the company said the plant will be idled for a total of 14 working days at the end of December, in January and in March. Toyota will maintain the plant's three shifts, but may not renew the contracts of some of its 700 temporary personnel, she said.

This is a precautionary measure aimed at preventing inventory buildup at a time when European automobile sales are contracting sharply. Toyota's production cutback for the coming weeks is substantially less severe than those planned by other European car makers.

Starting Feb. 2 production will be slowed by... // EasyBourse.com