Toyota Puts the 'Big T' in Texas
Toyota probably isn’t the first automotive company that comes to mind when you think of Texas, but that isn’t stopping the Japanese giant from shifting its North American headquarters to the Lone Star State.
Over the next three years, Toyota will consolidate its North American headquarters into one campus located in Plano, Texas outside Dallas. The move will position Toyota to operate more efficiently in North America by juxtaposing the brand’s sales and marketing division with its corporate operations and manufacturing efforts. Currently, Toyota operates a truck manufacturing facility in San Antonio. In total, the move will affect approximately 4,000 employees.
“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,” Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz said today.
Toyota plans to break ground on the new facility fall and says it will be built with environmental sustainability in mind. The project is expected to take “two or more years” to complete.
“This is the most significant change we’ve made to our North American operations in the past 50 years,” Lentz said.
In addition to the new facility in Texas, the Toyota Technical Center in Michigan will also be expanded to make space for the company’s direct procurement division, which sources parts and supplies for the company’s products.
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Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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