NEW YORK (AP) — Toyota is shelving its plans to build the popular Prius hybrid in Mississippi as the slump in the auto industry continues to hobble the Japanese carmaker known for it emphasis on fuel-sipping vehicles.

Toyota’s plant under construction in Blue Springs was scheduled to begin production in 2010, marking the first time the gas-electric Prius, which has been on sale for more than a decade, would be built outside of Japan and China.

But Mike Goss, a spokesman for Toyota’s U.S. arm, said that despite investing 300 million dollars in the plant so far, the automaker is delaying production there indefinitely because of the industrywide downturn.

Goss says the roughly 100 people who have been hired to oversee construction and install human resources plans at the plant will not lose their jobs and will be assigned other duties.

Governor Haley Barbour said at a news conference that the state has invested 200 million dollars in the plant, while local governments have invested about 35 million. He said Toyota plans to work with state and local governments to mitigate extra costs caused by the delay.