Production losses escalating due to strike

Production losses amounting to millions of rand a day keep mounting in the motor manufacturing industry as a result of the two-week-long strike in the automotive component industry. The whole industry is grinding to a halt because there are no components to build vehicles.

The country's biggest passenger car manufacturer, Volkswagen SA, has been closed since last Wednesday causing production losses of 500 cars a day. The company's spokesperson, Bill Stevens, says a continuation of the strike will have dire financial consequences for the company.

Stevens says the strike is putting export contracts in jeopardy: "If we lose export business we are going to lose jobs".