How will Toyota pass profits onto stakeholders? What is the company's vision for growth? The task of answering these shareholder questions fell to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Yoichi Miyazaki.
Achieving sustainable growth
What, then, must be done to sustain growth for Toyota and the auto industry as a whole?
As the manufacturing sector grapples with chronic worker shortages, how is Toyota approaching this problem? Once again, Vice President Miyazaki took up the microphone.
Vice President Miyazaki
I believe that, in order for a company to grow sustainably, it must create a vibrant, fun, dynamic environment where every employee can apply themselves to their work while harnessing their individuality.
To do that, first we need to create conditions that make us a company people want to join and work for. From there, we must firmly establish systems and infrastructure that ensure individuals remain fulfilled and highly motivated to continue giving their best for a long time. That’s what we are currently working on.
To create a supportive work environment where diverse individuals can flourish regardless of age, gender, or physical ability, we are enhancing toilets, dormitories, and company housing, and promoting childcare leave for both male and female employees. Efforts are also underway to reduce workloads by redesigning vehicle structures and production line processes.
At the same time, given the auto industry’s extremely broad roots, the labor force issue affects not only us but also our suppliers and the industry as a whole. To boost the entire sector’s appeal and inspire people to join our 5.5 million colleagues, we are focused on ensuring that the effects of wage increases reach our primary, secondary, and tertiary suppliers and far beyond.
At Toyota, we believe people are priceless and employees are family. Toyota cannot create the auto industry’s future alone. We want to work with many others to build the future, pass on our skills and technologies across the industry, and continue developing Japanese monozukuri. To that end, we will keep investing heavily in people. I hope we can count on your continued support.
“Investing in people” was also a key topic raised at this year’s labor-management discussions. At the third round of talks in March, participants shared issues related to heat management in production plants and working conditions for logistics area contractors. Then, in April, dealers and suppliers joined in the first “expanded labor-management roundtable” as part of improvements targeting the entire auto industry.
As for the idea that “employees are family,” this stems from the words of Kiichiro Toyoda, who founded the Toyota Motor Corporation. The company’s Five Main Principles* include the following:
“Always strive to build a homelike atmosphere at work that is warm and friendly.”
＊The teachings of Group founder Sakichi Toyoda, compiled by Kiichiro Toyoda and others.
Vice President Miyazaki’s responses revealed a commitment to building on not just the company’s business foundations, but also their underlying spirit, for the benefit of future generations.