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RIO DE JANEIRO, April 18 (Xinhua) -- German carmaker Volkswagen has placed 3,600 workers from its Taubate plant in Sao Paulo on forced leave, union sources announced on Tuesday.

According to the Taubate Metalworkers' Syndicate, the measure was taken by Volkswagen to shift production volume to reflect lower market demand in Brazil, which has dropped due to the country's long-running economic setbacks.

The employees affected are divided into two groups: most will return to work on May 2 while another 260 will return on May 8. All of them are being placed on forced leave, said the syndicate.

Volkswagen already rolled out similar measure in the past at its Taubate plant, which has around 4,500 workers.

Most Brazilian car plants have fired employees in recent months due to poor sales.

In March, the country's automotive sector lost 491 jobs, making a total of 7,717 losses in the past twelve months up to March. Currently, the industry has a total of 121,048 workers, six percent down year-on-year, according to official data.