Daimler to suspend production for one month

BERLIN: German carmaker Daimler, hit by falling demand amid the global financial crisis, plans to suspend production for a month beginning in December, a newspaper said in report due to appear on Sunday.

The break in production would begin on December 11 and last until January 12, Frankfurter Sonntagszeitung reported, citing a company spokesman.

Daimler, the first luxury car maker to present its quarterly results, unveiled big falls in profits on Thursday and issued a new profit warning owing to the global banking crisis.

"The financial crisis is turning into an economic crisis," Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche told a telephone news conference. It provoked "in recent weeks a dramatic slump on our major markets," he said.

"The situation is very challenging," Zetsche added, "we are living in extraordinary times."