Toyota is halting UK production due to the transport chaos at the UK border.
The car manufacturer said travel restrictions into the UK had played a key role in the decision to bring its production line to a halt.
It said it anticipated parts shortages because of the delays.
In a statement, the company said the uncertainty over how long issues at the border would continue made it difficult to plan ahead.
As a result, it has brought its pre-planned Christmas factory closures forward.
It said: “Toyota always puts people first, and we want to help ensure the safety and security of our employees and all our stakeholders, particularly our logistics partners and in consideration of society’s wider needs.”
The multi-national said it had decided to come to a controlled stop of its production activities at Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK two days earlier than planned at its Deeside operation and and one day earlier than planned at its Burnaston site.
Its Toyota Motor Manufacturing France operation was closing two days earlier than the planned, it said.
For its UK operations, it means the Deeside engine plant on the English/Welsh border would stop from today (December 22) and the Burnaston vehicle plant, in South Derbyshire, would shut from December 23.
The company said: “Both our UK plants have a pre-planned winter shutdown from December 24, 2020, until January 4, 2021, which will proceed normally as scheduled.”
Dozens of countries have now placed travel bans on the UK after a new strain of Covid-19 was discovered in South East England.
Multiple countries have banned flights to and from the UK, while France has shut its border to all accompanied freight.
