The struggling US carmaker Chrysler is to halt production at all 30 of its plants for one month.
Chrysler needs to save money as it waits for the US government to find a way to help the car industry.
A $14bn (£9.4bn) bail-out deal for the industry failed in the Senate last week, raising fears of job cuts and a possible industry collapse.
Chrysler also needs to reduce production to reflect falling demand as the economy stumbles.
Dealers have been unable to sell cars even to people with the confidence to buy them, because they have been unable to take out car-loans.
"As a result of the financial crisis, the automotive market remains depressed due to the continued lack of consumer credit for potential buyers," Chrysler said in a statement.
Job losses
It left open the possibility that the plants would be closed for more than a month.
"Impacted employees will not return to work any sooner than Monday 19 January," it said.
Also on Wednesday, Ford announced it was to extend the normal two-week Christmas shut-down at 10 of its North American plants for an extra week.
Last week, General Motors announced it was shutting down 30% of its North American production.
Chrysler, Ford and General Motors have warned that millions of jobs could be lost if the government does not agree to a package of loans to support the industry.
While 46,000 Chrysler employees will be directly affected by the plants closure, many more Americans whose jobs depend on the big car makers will be watching with great concern, says the BBC's North America editor, Justin Webb.
The Bush administration has said it will act to prevent a disorderly collapse of the car industry, and loans to keep the big three companies in business could be arranged within days, our correspondent adds.
The White House warned on Tuesday that the carmakers would have to make "concessions" to secure the bail-out.
Chrysler needs to save money as it waits for the US government to find a way to help the car industry.
A $14bn (£9.4bn) bail-out deal for the industry failed in the Senate last week, raising fears of job cuts and a possible industry collapse.
Chrysler also needs to reduce production to reflect falling demand as the economy stumbles.
Dealers have been unable to sell cars even to people with the confidence to buy them, because they have been unable to take out car-loans.
"As a result of the financial crisis, the automotive market remains depressed due to the continued lack of consumer credit for potential buyers," Chrysler said in a statement.
Job losses
It left open the possibility that the plants would be closed for more than a month.
"Impacted employees will not return to work any sooner than Monday 19 January," it said.
Also on Wednesday, Ford announced it was to extend the normal two-week Christmas shut-down at 10 of its North American plants for an extra week.
Last week, General Motors announced it was shutting down 30% of its North American production.
Chrysler, Ford and General Motors have warned that millions of jobs could be lost if the government does not agree to a package of loans to support the industry.
While 46,000 Chrysler employees will be directly affected by the plants closure, many more Americans whose jobs depend on the big car makers will be watching with great concern, says the BBC's North America editor, Justin Webb.
The Bush administration has said it will act to prevent a disorderly collapse of the car industry, and loans to keep the big three companies in business could be arranged within days, our correspondent adds.
The White House warned on Tuesday that the carmakers would have to make "concessions" to secure the bail-out.
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