Mitsubishi Motors to hire temps again

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plans to resume hiring of seasonal factory workers as sales of its compact cars pick up, aided in part by tax breaks for green cars.

The plan, unveiled Thursday, reflects the company's assessment that the drop in sales has bottomed out.

The automaker will begin recruiting seasonal workers as early as August to work at its plant in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, where it assembles Colt subcompacts and other models. It plans to hire up to 500 workers by year-end, but the total will depend on sales trends.

Officials said they hope the Okazaki plant will begin operating two shifts from November or December to expand production. It has only operated a single day shift since February.

At the end of March, Mitsubishi Motors had no nonregular workers on its payroll. Last November, it had 3,300.(IHT/Asahi: July 11,2009)