Vienna- Austria's automotive industry on Thursday called on the government to help alleviate the effects of the current crisis which has gripped the global car industry.

"The crisis has fully hit us. More than 7,500 are already working short time," said Dietmar Schaefer, head of the car component suppliers' goup within the Austrian chamber of commerce.

A meeting between the Austrian government and industry representatives got underway on Thursday to discuss measures such as prolonging the time that short-time work would be subsidised with public funds.

Some 175,000 people, around 4 per cent of Austria's working population, are employed in 800 companies of the car parts sector, which heavily depends on German car makers.

The industry is also calling for more financial support for research, government guarantees for investments, as well as lowering the car tax to stimulate falling demand.

Magna, one of the world's largest car parts suppliers, has seen orders drop by a quarter, Magna Europe chief executive Siegfried Wolf said at the meeting, according to Austrian news agency APA. (dpa)