Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., maker of Subaru cars, said it will expand domestic production cuts in February and March as the global economic downturn cools auto demand.
The firm will cut vehicle output by 10,000 additional units in the year ending March 31 and eliminate 300 more temporary jobs in Japan, it said in a statement Friday.
"One job loss in the auto industry results in three job losses on an all-industry basis," Kyohei Morita, chief Japan economist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo, said on Bloomberg TV on Friday. "In terms of employment, things are not at the worst yet. Things will be worse."
The output reduction brings Fuji Heavy's total cuts to 70,000 units worldwide. Japan's carmakers are slashing output, jobs and profit forecasts as the global recession and concerns of job losses deter consumers from purchasing new cars.
The company said Nov. 27 it would cut Japan production by 40,000 vehicles between January and March. It also said at that time it planned to cut 800 temporary and contract workers by the end of December.