Toyota moving US headquarters to Plano, Texas
28 Apr 2014
Toyota is moving its national headquarters from the Los Angeles suburbs to Plano, Texas, Automotive News reported, based on unnamed sources.
The move would affect the majority of 5,000 employees based at the sprawling campus of the company in Torrance, according to the report. The US operation had had its base in Southern California for 57 years. Executives were told Friday while rank-and-file employees would be told today.
Toyota spokeswoman Julie Hamp said she would "not comment on rumour and speculation" when asked for response late yesterday.
Southern California, at one time was the US home to Japan's Big 3 -- Toyota, Nissan and Honda. However, in 2005, Nissan announced a move to Smyrna, and Honda started moving executives to Ohio last year.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Toyota Motor Corp was moving its US sales headquarters from southern California to suburban Dallas, according to two people familiar with the company's plans.
According to the people, the relocation was likely to bring much of the Japanese automaker's far-flung US operations under one roof, including sales, service, marketing, advertising, manufacturing and quality.
According to the people, the new Texas headquarters was expected to house at least three subsidiaries, including Toyota Motor Sales USA, Toyota Financial Services and Toyota Engineering and Manufacturing North America. The move which is to get underway in August and would happen in stages through the end of 2016, they said.
The people added, employees in Toyota's Torrance offices and other US locations would be offered relocation packages and financial assistance.
Toyota, started operations at California in 1957, and was the second Japanese automaker to relocate from the Los Angeles area.
In 2006, Nissan Motor Co moved most of its operations to Franklin, Tennessee, outside Nashville.
Toyota operates a truck assembly plant in San Antonio, Texas, and has manufacturing and assembly plants in eight other states, including Kentucky, Indiana and Mississippi.
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