Swedish car maker Volvo Cars is planning to reduce the production volume at its Ghent factory in Belgium as of 2013.
At first, the production line will be slowed from 59 cars per hour to 54 and as a result, 300 jobs will be laid off by the end of 2012 at the Ghent factory, which current employs around 5,200 people.
Volvo Car senior vice president of Manufacturing Lars Wrebo said that the company has seen a positive trend during a number of years, with 2011 as a record year.
"Now we see customer demand declining and we need to rebalance our production output," Wrebo said.
Ghent currently produces the S60, XC60, C30 and V40 model, which will be joined by the V40 Cross Country in November 2012.