From the Norfolk (England) Eastern Daily Press
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Workers at Norfolk car maker Group Lotus are being put on a short term
week after a slowdown in demand for the Elise in the United States.
Assembly line workers at the Hethel-based firm will still be paid a full
week's wages, but required to work fewer hours for a 12 week period.
The hours not worked by employees during the slowdown will be banked by
the company and staff will then be required to work a longer working
week later in the year when demand picks up.
Lotus has around 800 workers in its manufacturing division, but has yet
to decide which staff will be affected by the new working arrangements.
The slowdown, which begins on Monday February 27, will also allow the
assembly line to be adjusted to cater for the production of the latest
Lotus model, the Europa, which is due to be launched at the Geneva Motor
Show at the end of this month.
When Lotus launched the Elise in the US in 2004 the company had a large
waiting list for the sports car, but orders have fallen over the past year.
Lotus spokesman Alistair Florance said: When we launched the Elise in
the US there was a lot of pent up demand for the car and we have
satisfied that. We have also been busy stocking our dealers in the US
and we now need to scale back what we are producing for a time.
The slowdown will allow us to reconfigure the assembly line for the
production of the Europa, which begins in about two months time.
We have been working with our employees about this flexible working
arrangement. They will still be paid a full week's wages, but bank hours
we do not need and then work extra hours later in the year. It is a
sensible arrangement as our cars are to an extent seasonable products
with production peaks.
As well as the Europa which we believe will deliver good sales later in
the year, we have just been granted the go ahead to enter the Canadian
market and that will mean more sales later in the year.
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