Toyota declares Americans too stupid for factory work

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Henry_Chinaski
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Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 5025

Posted: July 05, 2005 - 06:13 PM
Post subject: Toyota declares Americans too stupid for factory work

"Ontario workers are well-trained. That simple explanation was cited as a main reason why Toyota turned its back on hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies offered from several American states in favour of building a second Ontario plant." ... "Several U.S. states were reportedly prepared to offer more than double that amount of subsidy. But [the president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association] said much of that extra money would have been eaten away by higher training costs than are necessary for the [new factory]." ... "In Alabama, trainers had to use pictorials to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment."

Must be the "in the barn" inbreeding of alabama.

Read the full text at: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/050630/b0630102.html

Magnolia
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Joined: June 01, 2004
Posts: 31083

Posted: July 05, 2005 - 07:28 PM

"Industry experts say Ontarians are easier and cheaper to train - helping make it more cost-efficient to train workers when the new Woodstock plant opens in 2008, 40 kilometres away from its skilled workforce in Cambridge.

"The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through in the southeastern United States," said Gerry Fedchun, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, whose members will see increased business with the new plant."

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"In addition to lower training costs, Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care system in Canada, said federal Industry Minister David Emmerson.

"Most people don't think of our health-care system as being a competitive advantage," he said.

Tanguay said Toyota's decision on where to build its seventh North American plant was "not only about money."

"It's about being in the right place," he said, noting the company can rely on the expertise of experienced Cambridge workers to help get Woodstock up and running."

It is no secret that the educational systems in Mississippi and Alabama are poor in terms of quality, ranked 44th and 47th nationwide out of 50. There is no fault in Toyota's choice to open the new plant in Canada. However, they did not declare Americans too stupid for factory work.

"The plant will produce the RAV-4, dubbed by some as a "mini sport-utility vehicle" that Toyota currently makes only in Japan. It plans to build 100,000 vehicles annually."

For comparison, the Kentucky Toyota plant produces 500,000 vehicles and 500,000 engines per year, in Camry, Avalon and Solara models. The Indiana plant produces 400,000 and the Texas plant 150,000.

Some quick numbers:

Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, Inc.
Headquartered in Erlanger, Kentucky. Established in 1996.

TMMNA serves as headquarters for Toyota’s growing manufacturing activities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

TABC, Inc.
Manufacturing plant in Long Beach, California. Established 1972.

TABC, Toyota’s first North America manufacturing plant, produces sheet metal components, steering columns, catalytic converters, and coated catalytic substrates for Toyota’s North American manufacturing facilities and for export to Japan. TABC also assembles commercial trucks for Hino Motors to be sold in North America. In 2005, the plant expects to have a capacity of 4,000 units and an estimated 10,000 trucks by 2006.

New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc.
Manufacturing plant in Fremont, California. Established in 1984.

NUMMI, a Toyota/General Motors joint venture, manufactures the Corolla and Tacoma for Toyota, and the Pontiac Vibe for General Motors. The plant has an annual capacity of 390,000 vehicles.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc.
Manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. Established in 1986.

TMMK, Toyota’s largest manufacturing facility outside of Japan, builds the Avalon, Camry, and Camry Solara coupe and convertible, as well as 4-cylinder and V6 engines and powertrain parts. The plant has an annual capacity of 500,000 vehicles and 500,000 engines.

Bodine Aluminum, Inc.
Manufacturing plants in St. Louis and Troy, Missouri and Jackson, Tennessee. Established in 1912 and purchased by Toyota in 1990.

The St. Louis plant manufactures engine brackets and carrier covers. The Troy plant manufactures cylinder heads, cylinder blocks, intake manifolds, and engine brackets. In late 2005, Bodine will begin production of aluminum engine blocks at its third plant in Jackson, Tennessee.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, Inc.
Manufacturing plant in Princeton, Indiana. Established 1996.

TMMI produces the Tundra full-size pickup, the Sequoia full-size sport utility vehicle and the Sienna minivan, with a total annual capacity of 300,000 units.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia, Inc.
Manufacturing plant in Buffalo, West Virginia. Established 1996.

TMMWV manufactures 4-cylinder engines for the Corolla, Matrix and Pontiac Vibe; V6 engines for the Sienna and Lexus RX 330; and five-speed transmissions for the Camry, Sienna and RX 330. TMMWV has an annual capacity to build more than 550,000 engines and 360,000 automatic transmissions. TMMWV will begin producing automatic transmission gears in 2006.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama, Inc.
Manufacturing plant in Huntsville, Alabama. Established in 2001.

TMMAL manufactures V8 engines for the Tundra. The plant has an annual capacity of 120,000 engines. It is the first Toyota plant outside of Japan to build a V8 engine. In 2005, TMMAL will begin production of V6 engines for the Tacoma and Tundra, with an additional capacity of 130,000 engines. In 2006, the plant will increase capacity of V8 engines by another 150,000, bringing total capacity to 400,000 units.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas, Inc.
Manufacturing plant in San Antonio, Texas. Established in 2003.

In fall of 2006, TMMTX will begin production of the Tundra full-size pickup. The plant’s annual capacity will be 150,000 trucks.

Canadian Autoparts Toyota, Inc.
Manufacturing plant in Delta, British Columbia. Established in 1983.

CAPTIN manufactures aluminum alloy wheels for the North American and Japanese markets. The plant has an annual capacity of 1.45 million wheels.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Inc.
Manufacturing plant in Cambridge, Ontario. Established in 1986.

TMMC builds the Corolla, Matrix and Lexus RX 330 for North America. Four-cylinder 1.8-liter engines for the Corolla and Matrix are also assembled at TMMC. It is the first plant outside of Japan to produce Lexus vehicles and has an annual capacity of 250,000 vehicles and 150,000 engines.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Baja California
Manufacturing plant in Baja California, Mexico. Established in 2002.

TMMBC builds Tacoma pickup trucks and Tacoma truck beds. The plant has an annual capacity of 180,000 truck beds and 30,000 Tacoma pickup trucks. The truck beds are used in production both at TMMBC and NUMMI.

TSSC, Inc.
Headquartered in Erlanger, Kentucky. Established in 2002.

TSSC is a resource for companies across North America interested in Toyota Production System (TPS) as a way to strengthen the quality and efficiency of their production systems.
http://www.toyota.com/about/operations/na-affiliates/

Additionally, the number of North American suppliers that received awards from Toyota in 2004 for quality and service did not exclude the US.
http://pressroom.toyota.com/photo_library/display_release.html?id=2005 0323e

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Henry_Chinaski
Board Lord

Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 5025

Posted: July 05, 2005 - 07:49 PM

Oh yes granted. The headline came from www.dailyrotten.com, it's not mine.

Rotten is an american site by the way.

Henry_Chinaski
Board Lord

Joined: Aug 16, 2003
Posts: 5025

Posted: July 05, 2005 - 07:51 PM

And considering that probably 95% of the consumption of this new factory will be in the US, and all the transportation/logistics costs to bring the production down to the US it is simply flabbergasting how much american workers' stupidity costs to Toyota.