Porsche cuts costs amid lagging demand

STUTTGART, Germany, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- German luxury automaker Porsche has announced planned cuts in worker hours amid falling demand for its vehicles.

The company said because sales have dipped 14 percent for the six months to the end of January, and it needed to cut costs. Porsche said it sold 34,000 fewer cars and SUVs than for the same period a year ago.

In the United States, Porsche's largest market, the company had a 27 percent drop in sales, while in Germany total sales declined 26 percent, the BBC reported.

Porsche also said it will cut production by about 19 days between February and April. The company had cut eight days of production in January at its main facility in Zuffenhausen.

Porsche is not the only car maker to trim production, the British broadcaster said.

Japanese auto manufacturer Honda is set to close one of its British factories for four months, affecting 2,500 workers. Honda's net profit for the three months December plunged 89 percent, the BBC said.

Production shutdown periods have been experienced at car plants owned by BMW, Bentley, Vauxhall, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Nissan, Rolls Royce and Toyota.