Featured Toyota moves engineering center to TX

That story reads like they are closing both engineering and manufacturing there so that means Camry manufacturing would move too.
Sorry to see this.

 

looks like texas is offering the highest incentives?

 

Yes unfortunately Texas offered lots of incentives, that I think hurts my state. Well california is hurt the most, with the move of toyota headquarters.

To me the move of engineering to closer to marketing may be a good thing. They weren't going to do it in expensive California. This also gives toyota a chance to clear out the dead wood without it looking like a layoff. New engineering talent probably would rather work in Dallas than Cincinnati (better weather, better sports teams, no personal state income tax, bigger educated work force)

I don't think engineers near cincinatti got much of the credit, that went to japan. Remember there is the toyota truck plant in San Antonia, and the corrolla plant in mississippi. That leaves all plants within a direct flight from DFW airport near the new head quarters. I'm sure engineers will remain in each plant as well. Amazing how great putting up a few remote camera's in the factory can be. I regularly consult on some plants in malaisia and germany, and can now actually skype with the line people and look at the line on camera, all from home in austin (it makes it nice to not have to be at an office at the wierd times.

Agree it may be a bad thing if done poorly, but toyota still has the best manufacturing engineering of all the car companies. Lexus has the best QC, but I think all the shots for that are called from Japan.

Remeber the HQ move was not done in a vacuum. The unintended acceleartion problem with met with PR and hiring of NHTSA employees to politic the organization. There were cover ups of certain items, and boasts of saving money by not implementing NHTSA recomendations. It might have been much less costly if engineering was able to tell the marketing folks there was an engineering solution, and the company needed to do much more dealer training.