Face of Nation : Toyota confirmed it would halt production at Burnaston for a day after the 31 October deadline to “assess and react”. Unite, which represents many of the 2,600 workers, warned the government the move was “the first of many consequences” of a possible no-deal.
The government said it met unions and bosses regularly to plan for Brexit. The Japanese car manufacturer has been outspoken against no-deal ahead of the UK leaving the EU.
It also confirmed it expected to make up the hours lost to the stoppage later in the month, so no overall production would be lost. The plant exports 80% of the Corolla cars assembled there. The pause will also mean it will have two days’ worth of parts, rather than the normal four hours.
At a meeting this week Unite told cabinet minister Michael Gove more disruption could make the plant uneconomic. Tony Tinley, from Unite, said: “Toyota don’t have the capacity [to build up stores]. They do lean manufacturing, they do lean pricing.
“If they have to put an extra cost on to their cars and become uncompetitive, they may as well build them in Europe and ship them over.”
A government spokesperson said: “The meeting gave both sides the opportunity to update on the steps being taken to ensure businesses are prepared for leaving the EU on 31 October, whatever the circumstances.
Toyota did not give a full statement but said it was “just trying to plan ahead sensibly with this single-day pause to give us time to assess and react”. “The government has already announced £108m of funding to support businesses and we are undertaking key actions, such as improving infrastructure and resilience at ports, to help manage our exit.”
