ANKARA
Turkish carmaker Tofas temporarily stopped car production as workers went on strike at car factories in the northwestern city of Bursa, company officials said on Friday.
The strike, which is about pay, of around 5,000 workers started on the morning of May 15 at the factory of French car manufacturer Renault.
On Friday, Tofas automobile workers took a decision to join them in demands for a wage increase.
"Labor actions that have occurred in a couple of companies operating in the automotive sector in Bursa have included some workers in our factory. Therefore, in accordance with the risk management policies of our corporation, to ensure the continuity of effective and healthy manufacturing activities, and, as a precautionary measure, management has decided to discontinue production until the strike ends," Tofas said in a statement to the Public Disclosure Platform of Borsa Istanbul, on Monday.
Tofas, a joint venture with Italy's Fiat, and the sixth largest industrial group in Turkey, has capacity to produce 400,000 cars every year, with its 6,500 workers, according to its website.
It manufactures Fiat's Linea car, Doblo van and other models for Peugeot, Citroen and Opel, according to its website. Its sales stood at 7.4 billion Turkish lira ($2.9 billion) in 2014 and its net profit was 574 million lira ($221.9 million) last year.
Shares in Tofas fell 4.41 percent at the start of Monday's trading. By 10.30 a.m. local time (830GMT), the stock had dropped in value by 1.38 percent from the previous trading day.
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