Toyota reports first ever loss
Updated on 22 December 2008
Toyota blames the "unprecedented emergency situation" in the global economy for its losses.
The world's biggest carmaker has warned that it will make a loss this year for the first time in its 70-year history.
But if the world's most efficient car giant is feeling the pinch, the climate for luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover is even harsher.
Its Indian owner says it has already injected hundreds of millions into the company to keep it going and wants the government to step in for an industry-wide bailout, but the government is remaining tight-lipped.
Derek Simpson
Jon Snow is joined by Derek Simpson, the joint general secretary of Unite union.
The bailout explained
Business secretary, Lord Mandelson, had said that Jaguar and other carmakers would need to pass tough tests before the government would come to their rescue.
Questions have been raised as to why the government was considering coming to the aid of car manufacturers after it let retailer Woolworths go to the wall.
Some have argued that there would be a strong political motivation behind any bailout. Many car plants are in marginal constituencies, so mass job losses in those regions would be disastrous for the government's popularity rating.
However, Tata Group has argued that the car industry is of key strategic importance to Britain's economy and allowing it to fail would have far reaching consequences.
Whereas high street retailer's premises, like those belonging to Woolworths, can be filled by an alternative shop very easily, when a car factory closes, it tends to remain empty, with no alternative industry filling the gap.
Car manufacturers also rely on highly skilled workers, who are expensive to train, making it important to avoid redundancies. In contrast, retail employees can be taken on with little training.
Carmakers also support a vast web of other specialist industries, largely locally based, which make parts or provide specific services. Retailers are more likely to source their products from abroad, so their closure does not have the same impact on the larger UK economy.
