FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Volkswagen AG is considering slowing production at the end of this year by closing for extra days around the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Works council chief Bernd Osterloh said an interview with Norddeutscher Rundfunk radio Wednesday that the company is contemplating stopping production for two extra days before Christmas as well as the Friday after New Year's Day.
"There are considerations, in light of product levels getting too high, that we could take three, four or five days on top of that," Osterloh said in the interview.
Automakers all over Europe are cutting production and jobs. Volkswagen, unlike most of its peers, had previously said it would not curb production or lay off workers. Volkswagen only said it would not renew the contracts of 750 temporary workers.
"The crisis is also affecting Volkswagen, but not at the level of the others," Osterloh said.
Germany's other larger carmakers including Daimler AG and BMW AG said in early October they would curb assembly, alter deliveries or temporarily shut plants to accommodate a fall in demand.
