New Delhi: Amidst continued declining auto sales and no significant signs of recovery in market sentiment, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) announced a voluntary retirement scheme ( VRS ) for its permanent employees, as per a ET Now report.With this move the Indian subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan becomes the fourth auto company after the General Motors, Hero MotoCorp and Ashok Leyland to launch VRS for employees in the last two months.According to the report, the company had launched the scheme on 23rd September and would run up to 22nd October 2019. The scheme is aimed at permanent employees with above 5 years of experience, the report added. "The company is not yet countering in the temporary workforce as of now but their contracts have not been renewed by the automaker," reveals the report.Prior to TKM, country's leading commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland took the similar action in the month of August following a series of production cuts. Soon after, two-wheeler market leader Hero MotoCorp also commenced a VRS for its employees in September to safeguard company's depleting margins. Industry experts point out that companies mainly issue such employees separation scheme to cut their operating cost and return to profitability.VRS is a win-win situation between employee and employer during tough times, said Gaurav Vangaal, Country Lead, Production Forecasting IHS Markit, adding that it is anyday better than firing an employee. "By taking such steps companies not only succeed in providing a glimpse of employee value but also tries to mitigate employee cost as they struggle to meet their operating profit margin due to multiple production shutdowns and low vehicle sales," Vangaal told ET Now.In the first six months of current financial year, production of Toyota Kirloskar crashed by 37 per cent, while Hero Motocorp's production declined by 36 percent. Similarly, Ashok Leyland decreased its production by 18 percent during April-September 2019.