US – Within the next three years, the OEM’s existing three headquarters for manufacturing, sales and marketing and corporate operations for the region will be combined in a state-of-the-art campus in Plano, Texas. Toyota’s North American finance division will also move its headquarters to the site.
Construction of the new complex will be completed in late 2016 or early 2017, with groundbreaking scheduled for autumn 2014. The move will affect around 4,000 employees, and the personnel relocation will begin with small groups this summer.
Describing the unified headquarters as “the most significant change we’ve made to our North American operations in the past 50 years”, Jim Lentz, who was appointed Toyota’s first CEO for the region in 2013, commented: “Ultimately, enabling greater collaboration and efficiencies across Toyota will help us become a more dynamic, innovative and successful organisation in North America.”
In other developments, the Toyota Technical Center (TTC) in Michigan will be expanded to accommodate 250 direct procurement personnel relocated from Erlanger, Kentucky. The expansion is part of an increased investment in engineering capabilities and will enable future growth in product development. The OEM is also set to build a new facility at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) in Georgetown, transferring around 300 production engineering employees from Erlanger.
Toyota says its ten production plants in the US “will not be impacted by these changes”.