CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Labor strikes at car assembly plants owned by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Toyota are slowing production and reducing the availability of new vehicles in Venezuela's domestic market by almost 25 percent.
A Mitsubishi spokesperson says the strike has paralyzed that company's plant in the city of Barcelona for almost a month.
Employees at Toyota's assembly plant in the city of Cumana walked off the job last week to demand back pay, halting production on the assembly line, said union leader Argenis Vasquez.
The two plants produced 24.7 percent of the 135,042 cars assembled in Venezuela last year, according to the Venezuelan Automobile Chamber.
Representatives from both companies confirmed Thursday that the strikes continue.