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Lexington, KY – As part of a massive North American restructuring for Toyota, more than 1,500 professional jobs at Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA) in Erlanger, Ky. will see their jobs relocated.
Currently spread out with three North American headquarters, Toyota Motor Sales (TFS) in Torrence, Calif., TEMA in Northern Kentucky and Toyota North America in New York City, the company announced Monday it would bring all of those operations together under one roof in the Dallas suburb of Plano.
None of the company’s 10 manufacturing facilities in the United States will be impacted, according to a release from Toyota.
“With our major North American business affiliates and leaders together in one location for the first time, we will be better equipped to speed decision making, share best practices, and leverage the combined strength of our employees,” said Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota’s North American Region. “Ultimately, enabling greater collaboration and efficiencies across Toyota will help us become a more dynamic, innovative and successful organization in North America. This is the most significant change we’ve made to our North American operations in the past 50 years, and we are excited for what the future holds.”
Around 1,000 TEMA employees will see their jobs relocated to the facility in Plano that is expected to be complete in 2017. Until then, small groups that will be relocated this summer will work from temporary offices in the Dallas area.
Approximately 250 of the Erlanger employees involved in company procurement will move to a yet to be constructed facility at the Toyota Technical Center less than 10 miles south of Ann Arbor, Mich.
Around 300 of Erlanger’s production engineering positions will see their jobs moved down I-75 to the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky plant in Georgetown.
After the move is complete, Toyota states it will continue to employ 8,200 people in the commonwealth once an extra 750 jobs are added for the planned production of the Lexus ES 350 starting next year in Georgetown.
Once the transition is complete, the automaker has promised an additional $10 million philanthropic commitment to provide funding for local non-profits and community organizations in the states losing jobs. The money which will be above and beyond the company’s current commitments will be disbursed over a five-year period beginning in 2017.
“Obviously, we are extremely disappointed by Toyota’s decision. We would have welcomed the opportunity to discuss options with Toyota, but we will now turn our attention to preparing for this transition,” Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said in a statement released from his office.
“Toyota officials have assured us that a continued strong presence in Kentucky is central to Toyota’s ongoing success,” Beshear said adding that the company has invested more than $6 billion in the state in the past 30 years.
“Kentucky remains a powerful force in auto manufacturing, and we will do everything possible to maintain and strengthen Kentucky's position as one of the top states for the auto industry,” the governor said.