Toyota Motor said production at an assembly plant in southern China would remain idle for at least the day shift yesterday as rival Honda was hit by a strike at another auto parts supplier.
The disputes are the latest in a wave of labor unrest to hit foreign companies in China, which has highlighted growing discontent among millions of workers over low pay and poor conditions.
Operations at Toyota’s plant in Guangzhou have been halted since Tuesday because of a walkout at a unit of Toyota-affiliated parts maker Denso Corp.
“Production at our factory in Guangzhou will be suspended for the morning shift today due to a strike at a parts supplier,” Tokyo-based Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco told reporters.
The day shift at the factory in Guangdong Province, China’s manufacturing hub, finishes at 0845 GMT and the company has not made any decision yet for the night shift, Nolasco said.
The strike at the Denso Corp unit, which makes fuel injectors and other components, started on Monday when more than 200 employees stopped work and demanded higher pay, state media reported on Tuesday.
Rival automaker Honda was also hit by labor unrest yesterday when an assembly plant run by its Chinese joint venture Guangqi Honda Automobile stopped operations after strikes at a Japanese spring suspension supplier.
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