Toyota US operations to shut down
A spokesman for Toyota's U.S. manufacturing operations said Monday that it is inevitable the auto maker will have to shut down temporarily all of its North American factories due to shortages of parts from Japan.
The shutdowns are likely to take place later this month, affecting about 25,000 workers–although no layoffs are expected. Toyota, which gets about 15% of its parts from Japan for cars and trucks built in North America, has 13 factories in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The company said it had a 55-day supply of U.S. inventory.
