Peugeot’s Slovak Unit to Cut Working Days on Weaker Demand

The Slovak unit of PSA Peugeot Citroen (UG) will suspend production for 21 days in the fourth quarter as the economic slowdown in western Europe reduces demand for vehicles, spokesman Peter Svec said.

The move will increase the number of vacation days this year in Peugeot’s factory in Trnava, western Slovakia, to 33 and it won’t have any impact on employment, Svec said in an e-mailed statement today. In 2011, the company suspended production for 39 days.

The carmaker is responding to reduced demand for cars in western Europe, where consumers are defering purchases amid concern about the region’s economy. European car registrations fell 8.5 percent from a year earlier in August, while PSA Peugeot Citroen’s sales declined 12 percent.

Europe’s second-biggest carmaker assembles Peugeot-brand 207 and 208 models and Citroen C3 Picasso vehicles in Trnava. Peugeot had planned to produce 240,000 cars in Slovakia this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Radoslav Tomek in Bratislava at rtomek@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at jagomez@bloomberg.net