Birch Company normally produces and sells $48,000$ units of RG$-6$ each month. The selling price is $$30$ per unit, varlable costs are $$10$ per unit, fixed manufacturing overhead costs total $$195,000$ per month, and fixed selling costs total $$32,000$ per month.

Employment$-$contract strikes in the companles that purchase the bulk of the RG$-6$ units have caused Birch Company's sales to temporarily drop to only $11,000$ units per month. Birch Company estimates that the strikes will last for two months, after which time sales of RG$-6$ should return to normal: Due to the current low level of sales, Birch Company is thinking about closing down its own plant during the strike, which would reduce its fixed manufacturing overhead costs by $$48,000$ per month and its fixed selling costs by $10\%.$ Start$-$up costs at the end of the shutdown period would total $$15,000.$ Because Biret Company uses Lean Production methods, no Inventorles are on hand.

Required:

What is the financlal advantage $($disadvantage$)$ If Birch closes its own plant for two months?

$2$ Should Birch close the plant for two months?

At what level of unit sales for the two$-$month period would Birch Company be Indifferent between closing the plant or keeping it open?