WORKERS at Toyota's Derbyshire plant face losing an average of £1,900 from their paypackets after they agreed a deal to cut wages and hours.

The Japanese car giant, whose 3,900-strong Burnaston workforce includes staff from Nottinghamshire, confirmed today it would cut pay by ten per cent and shave a day off the working fortnight.

The move had been widely expected as the firm is one of a number of car makers grappling with falling sales and declining profits dragged down by recession and the credit crunch.

Toyota has also scrapped the annual pay increase for employees and cancelled management bonuses, while its UK factories have just finished a fortnight's shutdown.

The plant in Burnaston makes the Avensis and Auris models, with 85% of output exported.

The firm's European sales were down by 10% last year.

Peter Tsouvallaris, Unite representative at Burnaston, said: "The proposals put to the workforce today present a real opportunity to restore some measure of stability to Toyota in the coming months, and we will be recommending them to our members.

"Unite's priority is to secure jobs and give our members a fighting chance of coming through this economic turmoil with their jobs and livelihoods intact.

"Any decision to cut wages and working time is never taken lightly, but the agreement we have reached with Toyota will ensure none of our members' benefits are eroded and that these skilled workers will remain in place and at work ready for when the upturn comes."

Toyota's announcement came as car company officials, bankers and union leaders were arriving at the London headquarters of the Business Department to discuss the Government's £2.3bn assistance programme for the industry, originally announced by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson in January.