Toyota Argentina has informed its employees that a voluntary retirement plan is open, due to the lower activity expected this year due to the decline in exports to Chile, Peru and Colombiathree of its most important markets.
The information circulates within the Toyota factory, in the city of Zárate, where 8,500 workers work on three shifts. The voluntary withdrawal plan, according to internal communication, has a limit of 400 people, 4% of the workforce.
Industry sources indicated that the company would make an offer a percentage more which would correspond to a severance payment, but this is not part of the communication released on Tuesday morning.
Toyota’s Argentine subsidiary produced last year 182,000 units of the Hilux pick-up and the SW4 off-road version. For this year the forecast is a maximum of 165,000 units, 10% lessAs detailed in February by the company owner, Gustavo Salinas.
Toyota’s exports 80% of its production goes to 23 countries in the region. The most important destination is Brazil, which captures nearly half of such shipments. But of the remaining group, the three countries at the top of the list are Chile, Peru and Colombia, which last year had heavy falls of their markets.
“In Colombia, sales fell by 40% and in Chile by 25%“Salinas told Clarín in mid-February. For this reason, he added, they are working with a production plan of no more than 165,000 units for this year. “It is an absolutely dynamic fact because, for example, in those countries where sales are decreasing, in January they were increasing, so we monitor it day by day”, added the Argentine manager.
Inside the plant, employees were informed of the voluntary retirement plan on Tuesday, but word had already spread over the weekend, when the specialized site Infoguilds advanced the information, from sources in Mechanical Union (Smata).
Toyota’s interaction with the union it heads Ricardo Pignanelli It happens every day and has been going on for years. The union’s general secretary also traveled to Japan with the automaker’s executives ten years ago as part of the local branch’s strategy to secure an $800 million investment to modernize the plant. The voluntary retirement plan, in this context, was also previously agreed with the union.
The drop in sales currently only affects these three countries, industry sources said. In Brazil, a destination where Toyota sends between 40% and 50% of its exports, sales continue at the same level as in 2023.
For the local market, the company’s forecast covers the level of production and sales same as last year. Sales at local dealerships fell sharply in the first two months, despite being affected by the 25 days of paralysis of the dealerships due to “lack of prices” due to the delay in the adjustment of internal taxes.
Source: Clarin
