Facing further declines in sales, Toyota Motor Corp. said yesterday that it would eliminate bonuses for 3,000 employees, cut executive pay and reduce shifts at its plants in North America.

The world's largest automaker saw its U.S. sales fall 15 percent last year and 32 percent in January compared with the same month a year earlier.

Breaking from custom, the company has not released a forecast for U.S. industry sales in 2009 because the market is so unpredictable.

Toyota has 14 plants spread across California, Texas, Indiana, Kentucky, Mexico and Canada and said that it would reduce or temporarily halt production at some facilities. It also raised the possibility of cutting some workers from 80 hours per pay period to 72 hours — what it calls "work sharing."

The work sharing would most likely happen at the Texas, Indiana and Kentucky plants.

In addition, the company is canceling all bonuses for white-collar workers and cutting base executive pay by 5 percent, a company spokesman said. It will offer buyouts for employees who wish to leave the company.