Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. begins voluntary buyouts

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. is seeking to reduce headcount on a voluntary basis as it rebuilds from last year’s recall crisis amid an uncertain economy.

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A letter to Toyota’s U.S. sales and customer service employees issued today states: “We need to continue to align our staffing and organizational structure to fit our future needs and growth.”

The letter notes: “This is strictly a voluntary program and there is no specific target for the number of associates who will participate in this program.”

The voluntary severance agreement has been offered to Toyota managers in the automotive operations group, which includes Toyota and Lexus divisions, sales administration and logistics. The customer services division at Toyota’s Torrance, Calif., headquarters also is included.

The offer to leave Toyota is being extended to 629 of 6,100 Toyota headquarters employees.

Not the first time

This is not the first reduction in force for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. since the recession began, a spokesman said, declining to give details. When the recession hit, Toyota also terminated nearly all of its dealings with outside independent contractors.

But Toyota had been paring staffing levels throughout the past decade, even as its volume grew. Between 2000 and 2005, U.S. sales of Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles rose from 1.62 million in 2000 to 2.26 million, but the employee count declined from 6,655 people to 6,272.

The severance package includes a $20,000 “transition assistance payment,” two weeks’ salary for each year of employment and an additional lump sum of 10 weeks’ salary.

Toyota was the only major automotive brand in the United States with declining sales in 2010, in an industry up 11 percent. Toyota executives have said the company’s growth pace this year will exceed that of the industry, largely because of 10 new or redesigned products arriving, including the redesigned Camry sedan.

Toyota spokesman Steven Curtis said the move was necessary and he characterized the terms as “generous.”

Because there is no fixed reduction target, Curtis declined to speculate on what would happen if no one took the buyout offer.

“We think this will improve our efficiency and the scope of responsibility for some of our managers,” Curtis said. “This is another step in an ongoing review. We are looking at our overall cost structure, and we will be continuing to focus on that.”
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