Automaker SEAT plans temporary layoffs in Spain

MADRID, Spain-- German-owned automaker SEAT says it must temporarily lay off 1,250 employees at factories in northeastern Spain because of falling sales.

Spokeswoman Maria Antonia Fontiverio said today SEAT will have to cut production by 5% this year to cope with the sales drop.

SEAT produced around 400,000 vehicles in 2007 and has around 11,000 employees. It is a unit of Volkswagen.

After posting years of strong growth, Spain's economy is ailing, mainly because of a collapse in the construction industry.