GAYDON, England — Aston Martin, the British marque synonymous with James Bond, which previously had seemed impervious to the global auto industry slowdown, is slashing its workforce by a third.'Like other premium car brands, Aston Martin has been forced to take action to respond to the unprecedented downturn in the global economy,' said Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin CEO, in a statement on Monday. 'These are regrettable but necessary measures in the extraordinary market conditions we all now face.'The automaker said 'the possibility of up to 300 permanent and a similar number of temporary job losses cannot be ruled out.'Aston Martin has not reported global sales figures for 2008, but the U.K.'s Financial Times said the company expects to sell fewer 'than the just over 7,000 it did in 2007.' Volumes in the United Kingdom, which accounts for about a third of sales, fell 25 percent in October.It is not known what impact the cuts will have on the One-77, the supercar that Aston Martin has said it plans to make in a limited edition of up to 77 units and sell for the U.S. equivalent of about $1.7 million.Inside Line says: No auto company appears to be immune to the freefall of the global auto industry. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent