The decision, which is according to the Japanese auto maker “part of an ongoing process of evaluating our operations and aligning them with our future growth,“ is necessary for the car maker to get back on its feet following the recent recall and quality problems. “It will allow for further restructuring and enable us to expand areas of responsibility and increase efficiency,” Toyota says.
This is the first time when Toyota plans to let go some of its staff, after it managed to survive through the 2009 economic crisis and through the 2010 recall crisis without major personnel adjustments (except, of course, the closure of the NUMMI plant). In 2010, Toyota was the only big player on the American market to post a decrease in sales.
The car maker decided to handle the situation as elegantly as possible and it will not fire any personnel. Instead, the auto maker is offering a buyout package to anyone who decided to leave on their own (Toyota employs a little over 6,000 people in Torrance).
Each of the employees who decide to leave will receive a transition assistance payment of $20,000, two weeks of salary for each completed year of service based on his or her seniority date and an amount equal to ten weeks of salary.
All those interested in taking this offer will have until March 31, 2011 to decide. The official termination of the contract for them will come on April 28, 2011.
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