TOKYO-Toyota Motor Corp. is asking it unionized workers in Japan to accept a pay cut at the same time it extends a domestic production halt to cope with plummeting demand for new automobiles. MORE
TOKYO-Toyota Motor Corp plans to stop production at all of its Japanese plants for 11 days in February and March in response to the recent sharp drop in sales in the United States. MORE
DETROIT-Every major manufacturer selling automobiles in the United States reported sales drops of more than 30 percent in December, capping the largest year-over-year drop in sales since the energy crisis of the early 1970s. MORE
PHILADELPHIA-A former Boeing employee will spend five months in prison and five months in home confinement for vandalizing a $24 million military helicopter during his last shift on a suburban Philadelphia assembly line. MORE
DEARBORN, MI-Despite another drop in sales in December, Ford Motor Co. says it is making gains in terms of quality and market share in a number of key segments. MORE
LONDON-Thousands of workers in the United Kingdom were given extended holiday breaks as factories hit by the current economic slowdown remained closed. MORE
TOKYO-Nissan Motor Co. and NEC Corp. will invest at least $1.1 billion to make lithium-ion batteries for about 200,000 electric and hybrid cars annually in 2011. MORE
PARIS-Airbus has handed over its 11th A380 superjumbo jet, leaving the world’s largest maker of commercial aircraft with one more to reach its goal of 12 deliveries this year. MORE