BUENOS AIRES, Nov 8 (Reuters) - French auto maker Renault plans to suspend workers in an Argentine plant as a global economic slowdown hurts exports, local media reported on Saturday.
The Argentine labor ministry said Renault, which recently announced 6,000 job cuts to help it maintain profitability, would ask 1,000 workers at its Santa Isabel plant to stay off the job for 11 days in November and December, the La Nacion newspaper reported.
"Firings must be a last resort," said Labor Minister Carlos Tomada.
"Sales to Mexico and Brazil, our two main external markets, have totally stalled and for us exports are 27 percent of sales," a Renault source told the Clarin newspaper.
A global economic slowdown rooted in a credit crisis in the United States has caused a near collapse in demand for cars, leading U.S. auto companies to seek a $50 billion federal bailout to survive the financial turmoil. (Reporting by Nicolas Misculin; writing by Pav Jordan; editing by Vicki Allen)