Mazda Motor Corp. will cut 1,300 temporary jobs in Japan, spokesman Toyota Tanaka said Thursday.

Mazda will cut 500 workers at its factory in Yamaguchi Prefecture and 800 workers at its plant in Hiroshima Prefecture, he said.

Mazda slashed its profit forecast 29 percent last month as the global credit crunch and economic slowdown prompts consumers to spend less.

The carmaker, which exports about 85 percent of its domestic production, said the yen's strength against the dollar and euro cut ¥11 billion from operating profit in the second quarter.