People of Toyota are "Heart and Soul" of Company

This is part of our Toyota in Action series. See our previous articles about Toyota operations in the United States and community involvement.

Everyone knows that a company is only as good as the people in it. Based on Toyota’s record as one of the premier automobile companies in the world, that means that Toyota has some pretty amazing people driving it.

So how many amazing team members does Toyota have in the United States? Here’s a glimpse:

• There are more than 200,000 Toyota employees throughout the U.S.
• Toyota has been creating jobs in the U.S. for 55 years
• There are 2,000 new Toyota jobs in Mississippi alone

And here’s an interesting fact that demonstrates Toyota’s dedication to its employees and sound business practices: no Toyota employees were laid off during the economic downturn. Zero.

When a company has been around for 55 years and has shown dedication to its employees like Toyota has, you are bound to have lots of employee stories. For example, Wil James is one of Toyota’s longest-serving employees, arriving at the Georgetown, Kentucky plant just after he graduated college in 1987. Wil identified with Toyota’s values “challenging himself, having a long-term vision, and valuing teamwork” and rose through the ranks to become the Georgetown plant’s newest president. Wil’s ascension to the top also demonstrates Toyota’s global commitment to equal opportunity because Wil is also the first African-American president of the Georgetown plant.

While several automotive car companies suffered through significant layoffs when the recession began in 2009, Toyota used the ‘down’ time to reinvest in its employees and local communities with additional training and service. Toyota didn’t sit on its proverbial hands and wait out the storm: they went to work for you.

“Thousands of Toyota employees across the U.S. have put their talents to work helping others. In 2010, team members from our San Antonio plant joined local partner, United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, to lend a hand to area agencies like the St. Peter – St. Joseph Children’s Home. At “St. PJ’s,” as it’s affectionately known, Toyota volunteers rolled up their sleeves and tackled projects that ranged from painting to landscaping to helping clients. The staff and children of St. PJ’s aren’t the only ones to appreciate our team members’ efforts. In June 2011, the United Way named TMMTX Large Business Volunteers of the Year for our continuing efforts and partnership with them.”

The devastating Tornados in April 2011 in Alabama provided Toyota and Toyota’s employees with an opportunity to serve those communities who lost everything. Not only did employees from Toyota’s Huntsville manufacturing plant volunteer nearly 10,000 volunteer hours between April and May of 2011 helping clean up the disaster, Toyota provided full pay to its team members as they did so. Toyota also donated $1 million to the American Red Cross to help with tornado disaster relief.

Toyota wants employees who care about their communities and want to give back. And Toyota encourages this by doing things like giving employees full pay while they are cleaning up disasters and giving significant donations to further help those communities.

This encouragement led to an amazing turnout of Toyota employees for the 2010 National Lands Day, which is dedicated to improving public lands. With Toyota’s encourage, more than 3,500 Toyota employees in 19 states rolled up the sleeves and went to work. From clearing invasive blackberry bushes to boarding canoes to pull floating debris out of a river, Toyota employees showed their love for nature and giving back.

The people who make up Toyota (and make Toyotas) know what’s important. Their strength, caring and commitment to Toyota and their community make Toyota the strong company that it is. Toyota fosters an environment where people can become the best individual and best team member they can be by providing opportunities within the company and encouraging positive activity outside of their office walls.

For more information on how the people of Toyota make a difference in Toyota and in local communities, go to www.ToyotainActon.com.