The Ontario government and the Canadian federal government said on Tuesday they will each invest CAD70.8 million in the plants this way creating jobs in Ontario, where the auto industry is a key factor, but took a break during the 2008-09 economic downtown.
Toyota’s North American plants works to get back to normal production levels, after cutbacks caused by disruptions in parts supply, resulting from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March, so the investment comes as a helping hand at the right moment.
The Canadian Toyota plant produces the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix, Toyota RAV4, and Lexus RX 350 vehicles manufactured at two plants in Cambridge, in southern Ontario and another plant nearby Woodstock.The plants together employ about 6,500 workers.
"The strong support that we have received from both the federal and provincial governments is very important because it allows us to give these initiatives priority and helps to secure our production footprint in Canada," said Ray Tanguay, chairman of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada.
The program of investment is called “Project Green Light”, and will help the plants to become more efficient and environmentally friendly. A couple of the measures taken include upgrading the paint shop at the Cambridge North to allow it to switch to a water-borne system from a solvent-borne system, resulting in lower emissions.
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