MAN to Cut Truck Output Next Year

German truckmaker MAN SE will reduce working hours for 5,300 employees at its factories in Munich and Salzgitter in the first half of 2013, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports.

MAN commercial vehicle chief Anders Nielsen tells the newspaper the company is aligning production to sagging European truck sales.

Commercial vehicle sales across Europe in the January-October period fell 10% year on year to 1.49 million units, according to industry group ACEA. MAN says its orders shrank 14% in the third quarter. The truckmaker doesn't expect the region's truck market to recover for two or three years.

The production cut, which begins on Jan. 14, could be extended, according to Nielsen. But he says MAN does not plan to make any permanent job cuts.

The company has already shed most of its temporary workers, halted production for several days in the current quarter and will prolong its holiday break.