Border closures force Toyota to shut three plants early for Christmas
Toyota plans to shut production at three plants in Britain and France early for Christmas, due to likely part shortages as a result of border closures.
Toyota’s plant in Deeside, Wales, will close from today, and its vehicle plant in Burnaston will close from tomorrow. In France, its site at Onnaing will shut its doors two days before the planned Christmas break.
Borders have been shuttered to the UK across Europe amid fears of a new, more infectious variant of coronavirus that has been circulating in London and the southeast of England.
In a statement given to The Telegraph, Toyota said the shut down was “as a result of the expected parts shortages from the transport delays.”
The plants were set to close on Christmas Eve and reopen on 4 January, which is still the scheduled reopening date.
The chaos at Dover, which has seen nearly 1,000 lorries stuck near the port, could be eased today, with politicians working together to trash out a plan to get things moving.