Volkswagen to Layoff 400 Employees in South Africa

German automaker Volkswagen announced that they will cut 400 jobs in South Africa in an effort to scale back production. This comes as a result of decreasing demand in South Africa as well as for exports.

Volkswagen will stop production during the final week of February as well as during the weeks before and after Easter weekend. The 400 layoffs will be done on a voluntary basis.

The company added that their commitment to South Africa would not be deterred by the recession and said it would continue with plans to invest in technology in the southern most African Country.

South Africa produced 92,000 Volkswagen vehicles last year. More than of third of those were exports.

The automaker expects the total domestic vehicle market to fall by 10% in 2009.

Car manufacturers across the globe are experiencing declining sales as the lack of credit makes it difficult for consumers to purchase automobiles.

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