Trexoid Inc. makes a popular video game console. Demand varies each month, with highest demand coming in the last quarter of the year. Regular production costs are $150 per unit and inventory carrying cost is $3 per unit per quarter. Assume that Trexoid has 10 employees at the end of the previous quarter (called Quarter 0 in the table below), each of whom can produce 5000 units per quarter in regular production.

Hiring cost is $6000 per employee and firing cost is $12000 per employee. Trexoid currently has zero inventory on hand, and they would like to have zero inventories at the end of the year. Assume hiring and layoff/firing, if necessary, occur at the beginning of a quarter. Forecast demand is as follows:

Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4
50000	60000	80000	130000

a. Given the above demand estimate, develop a production plan based on level production. Inventory may be carried in quarters 1 3, but should be 0 units at the end of quarter 4. Fill in the table below.

Hint: to determine regular production, use the average of total forecasted demand. Then determine how many workers are needed to produce that many units. Workers hired at the start of a quarter are able to produce 5000 units in that quarter.

(Leave no cells blank be certain to enter 0 where ever required. Enter negative numbers with a minus sign in front, in the format -10. Enter answers without commas. I.e., if an answer is 10,000 enter it as 10000)

Quarter	0	1	2	3	4	Total
Forecasted demand		50000	60000	80000	130000	320000
Regular production
Output - Forecasted Demand
Beginning Inventory		0
Ending Inventory	0
Average Inventory
Number of workers	10
Number of workers to hire
Number of workers to fire

b. Determine the cost of the level production plan.

Total cost: $