Mazda Motor Corp., maker of the RX-8 sports car, said Wednesday it applied for the government's subsidy program to help pay wages during auto production cuts in Japan this month.
The company is considering using government aid for production cuts planned in February where applicable, said company spokeswoman Yukari Hara. Mazda is halting night shifts at its domestic factories this month.
Mazda and other Japanese automakers are cutting production and temporary jobs at home as the global recession puts the brakes on car demand. Japan, the world's second-largest economy, has a subsidy system in place to help pay salaries at companies forced to scale back rapidly due to the global economic slowdown.
The automaker, based in Hiroshima, plans to resume night shifts at two of its four domestic plants in February, it said Monday. The other two plants will be operating under a single-shift system. The company plans to halt production on Fridays in February and March.