TOKYO- MITSUBISHI Motors is preparing to cut some 900 more jobs as Japanese automakers downsize to cope with a slump in demand for cars, media reports said on Wednesday.

Japan's fourth largest automaker will not renew contracts for selected temporary workers at a factory in Kurashiki in western Japan, public broadcaster NHK said.

The local Sanyo Shimbun said in its online edition that the factory had already terminated 250 jobs by the end of last month, and the fresh job cuts could push the total number of layoffs above 1,000.

'The layoff is inevitable for us to cope with the rapid fall in sales,' a factory official told the Sanyo.

'We are studying personnel transfers and other measures and trying our best to minimise the size of the human resource adjustment.' A company spokesman said no decision had been made.

Japanese automakers have struggled in the global economic downturn, although they are in much better shape than their US rivals, which are receiving government bailout loans for survival.

Japanese carmakers have expanded rapidly in recent years to meet brisk demand for their vehicles, but the sudden deterioration in the global economy has taken a heavy toll on their exports.

Mitsubishi Motors already announced in November it would cut 1,100 jobs, laying off one third of its temporary workers in Japan.

Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Nissan Motor, along with smaller rivals, have all decided to trim their workforce and lower production. -- AFP