Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp.’s subsidiary on the southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu will end contracts with about 1,100 temporary workers from April next year, as sales slump in North America and other regions, the Asahi newspaper said.

The cut will affect all temporary workers under contract at Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc.’s assembly plant, the newspaper reported, without saying where it obtained the information. Toyota Motor Kyushu will cancel a night shift at two assembly lines at its Miyata plant in January and February to reduce inventory.

Toyota Motor Kyushu employs about 7,700 people, including 1,400 contract workers at its plant and office, the report said.

Telephone calls to Toyota Kyushu for comment on the report weren’t answered.

To contact the reporter on this story: Naoko Fujimura in Tokyo at nfujimura@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 19, 2008 22:41 EST