New York, July 21: Volkswagen plans to cut 4,000 jobs in Brazil due to weak car sales in the first half of the year, reported a business daily today. The German carmaker will slash nearly 16 per cent of 24,800 Brazilian jobs because of over-capacity at its five Brazilian factories following an eight per cent drop in car sales from January to June.
But Volkswagen, which in 2002 held 26 per cent of the Brazilian automobile market, with some 382,000 auto sales, said it plans to transfer many of the affected workers to a new firm it is creating in Brazil, called "Autovisao Brazil."
It said it would release more details of the plan today.
Brazil has seen negative economic growth for two successive quarters, according to government figures, technically putting it in a recession.
Bureau Report