Visteon shifts to four-day work week

BELLVILLE, Mich., Jan. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. auto parts supplier Visteon Corp. said it will shift 2,050 jobs to four-day work weeks to save 20 percent of its labor expenses.

The move makes the company the first major auto-supplier to trim its labor costs in the first quarter of the year, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The company informed its staff the new schedule will start on Monday.

Visteon, which spun off from Ford in 2000, makes instrument panels and climate-control parts for cars.

"This is a way we can make necessary reductions in operating costs while minimizing layoffs," Visteon spokesman Jim Fisher said.

The company, he said, will re-evaluate the move at the end of the month.

Other parts suppliers, such as American Axle & Manufacturing Holding Corp. and Tenneco Inc., are searching for ways to cut production in response to slumping auto sales and production cuts announced by General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and other automakers