Final answer:
The most likely impact of a 50% worker layoff at the Toyota truck plant is a reduced production of Toyota trucks. Layoffs typically result in decreased manufacturing capacity, affecting overall production unless offset by increased efficiency or automation. Other impacts depend on cost management and production strategies in the face of increased input costs.
Step-by-step explanation:
In response to Toyota Motor Company's announcement of a 50% worker layoff rate at the Toyota truck plant, the most likely impact on the production of Toyota trucks would be C) Reduced production of Toyota trucks. Layoffs typically mean there are fewer workers available to build vehicles, which reduces the company's manufacturing capacity. Coupling this with the concepts of supply and demand, a reduction in the labor force at the truck plant will likely lead to a decrease in the number of trucks produced unless Toyota can increase automation or productivity significantly to counteract the reduction in workforce.
Comparing the options presented, while choice B suggests no change in production, the reduction in the workforce generally implies that unless there are other compensating factors, production will be reduced. Choice D, which suggests that production will stop, is usually not a direct consequence of layoffs unless the announcement explicitly says so. In the absence of such information, we expect a reduction, not a complete halt to production.
Firms react to an increase in the cost of one input by seeking more cost-effective production technologies or by substituting the expensive input with a cheaper one, if possible, to maintain profitability.