The first Toyota supplier to announce plans for a north Mississippi location has offered buyouts to its 16 employees in Baldwyn.

Special counsel Dennis Cuneo emphasizes that Auto Parts Manufacturing Mississippi is not shutting down the plant, but going to maintenance until Toyota Motor Co. begins production in Blue Springs.

He says the buyout offers have been planned for some time, and have nothing to do with rumors that the Prius will be built in California. Barbara McDaniel, a spokeswoman for Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America, has denied those reports.

Citing an uncertain economy and a downturn in auto sales, Toyota announced in December that it was postponing production in Blue Springs indefinitely.